


Lacuna

by SilverSerpentine



Series: Petrichor [2]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Alternate Universe - 1940s, Harry Potter is Lord Peverell, Knights of Walpurgis, M/M, Master of Death Harry Potter, Rating May Change, Slytherin Harry Potter, Time Travel, Tom Riddle is Not Voldemort, Warnings May Change
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-07
Updated: 2021-03-08
Packaged: 2021-03-12 12:54:53
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 8
Words: 38,002
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29260827
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SilverSerpentine/pseuds/SilverSerpentine
Summary: After feeling like he has nothing left, Harry uses a time Turner to go back to 1942. He ends up in Slytherin with a pet snake surrounded by snakes, a fox, and a panther.The panther is their leader and has his knights at his beck and call, while all the snakes bow down.He tries to get the Panthers attention away from him and fails miserably.Not only does he get his attention, but his interest, and now he won't let him go.Tom is bored to death. He knows he is the Heir to Slytherin , all the snakes bow down to him, his knights do whatever he asks and he is the king without any doubt.He just needs to find the Chamber of Secrets and continue his plan of becoming a dark lord.Then a dragon shaped like a deer appears in the snake pit and peaks his interest.The dragon tries desperately to act and seem like a snake, but it's too majestic and powerful for that.He tries to convince them this.He ends up with the dragon by his side, with his loyalty, and maybe something more..And then somewhere in the shadows is a fox, watching everything with sharp hazel eyes,  blending into the background.
Relationships: Harry Potter/Tom Riddle, Harry Potter/Tom Riddle | Voldemort
Series: Petrichor [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2156268
Comments: 45
Kudos: 378





	1. Apricity

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Apricity - the warmth of the sun in winter

The first thing Harry realized when he woke up was that he was cold.  
Not just cold, but absolutely freezing, and that he couldn't feel his feet.  
After all those years at war, he had developed a habit to mentally assess himself to make sure everything was alright when he came to.  
He sat up and found everything covered in white. Everything was blurry and he groped around for his fallen glasses. He eventually found them a few feet away and then checked his pocket for his wand. Once he found it he quickly cast a heating charm and assessed his surroundings.

Aside from the snow, it appeared he was in a large field of some sort, with a forest to his right and what looked to be a castle in the distance. He would recognise that castle anywhere. So he was at Hogwarts, near the forbidden forest. He could practically feel the magic emanating from the place, and it seemed no matter how many times he came here, it would always amaze him.

Now that he knew where he was, he needed to quickly formulate a plan of some sort, as well as another name and backstory. He didn't know who he could trust if anyone with the truth that he was a time traveler.  
He supposed maybe he could tell Dumbledore, but the conniving bastard would probably try to find a way to use him as his puppet. After all he was fine with leaving a child in an abusive residence, mold him to be the perfect light hero and send him on a suicide mission, so who knew.

He knew the year was 1942, but he didn't know the exact date. A quick tempus told him that it was January 12, 1942. So of course WW2 was still going full force, and Tom Riddle would be in 5th year, around 15 years old. He hasn't made any horcruxes yet, nor was the Chamber of Secrets open.  
He stood up,thinking about Diagon Alley, wanting to apparate there, and he figured since he was very familiar with the place, he would have no trouble doing so.

The first thing he would need was some money, and he figured the goblins could also help him with fake lineage and such.  
However after a few seconds of nothing happening he remembered that you couldn't apparate within Hogwarts property, since it was warded against these things for obvious protections. He cursed himself for forgetting this and decided he would have to go to Hogwarts, formulating a story while he did so.

He would try to have at least a bit of truth to his story so he could easily explain it, and not have problems when people questioned it. After all they were more likely to believe a story that was similar to what other people were going through and told with certainty.

He decided that his name was Hadrian Peverell, a halfblood, son of Haelynn Peverell, a pureblood who fell in love with a muggle born wizard by the name of Andrew Santiago. They married in 1923 and had him in 1926, three years later. However, because of the Peverell name they were attacked by a group of Grindelwald's men in one of the raids and he barely managed to escape, unlike his parents. He accidentally went through the wards, and since Hogwarts sensed his trouble it let him in.

That reminded him, he didn't know how he was going to get into Hogwarts. A professor might be a decent idea, but he didn't know how effective that would be.  
He could try to enroll as a student, but he didn't look younger than 18, as he was an adult, maybe a deaging potion would work. He didn't know if time travel had any side effects from traveling so far into the past. He wouldn't know as him and Hermione didn't travel years into the past. The exact rules weren't known to him. He transfigured a nearby stone into a mirror to look at himself.

Fuck...Well he looked 15, so that wouldn't be a problem, and besides the fact that he looked like he was 5 steps from death, it was like looking at a different person. He had always been told he looked exactly like his father by everyone, and it seemed like sometimes even Sirius had forgotten he wasn't James Potter, occasionally accidentally calling him James then realizing and looking away in some emotion.

His eyes had been his mother's, a dim green with hazy brown around the edges. Now they were a vivid green, and if he stared long enough at them they seemed to glow with an almost acid light. His skin was close to what he would describe as olive, with a fair tan that looked like he was often outside.

There were also subtle changes to his face, slightly sharper cheekbones, smaller ears, plumper lips. And he was taller by a few inches,about normal height in his time.

The biggest difference though was his hair. It was no longer the token untamable Potter hair that seemed to run wild in every which way, but more instead fell in manageable raven locks that came to the edge of his face and along his neck.

If you were looking for Harry Potter, you might have found him, as though he had a glamour on, but no one in this time knew him, so there was no problem there. He vanished the mirror and stuffed his wand back in his pocket, continuing to the castle.

When he finally got to the castle, it was the greenhouse he first encountered.  
There was a shocked woman inside with dusty grey and black hair, who had been tending to some shrivelfig plants when he came in. He assumed she was the Herbology teacher, and when he opened the door, she spun around.

The first emotion on her face after shock was concern. she looked him up and down and then offered him a gloved hand. "You look like you've been through hell and back young man. What are you doing here at Hogwarts?"

He took her hand and sucked in his breath as if he was in pain, which wasn't that hard considering he felt like he had been run over a train. He managed to respond with a hoarse voice, full of uncertainty.  
"I honestly don't know.." He hesitated as if pondering his answer "One minute my parents were yelling at me to leave, and I wished I could've been anywhere but there, and the next I was here. " he lowered his voice to a whisper "Is it safe here?"  
She swallowed, and then answered "Hogwarts is the safest place you can be at the moment." Her smile was small, but reassuring as she led him out of the greenhouse. "Let's get you to the headmaster..."

They walked through Hogwarts, and he looked up, the high walls of the castle almost intimidating. They passed several students, who looked at him with varied expressions. He could feel the judging glares of some, probably purebloods. He had dealt with Draco, and he could deal with them just as well.

He continued, ignoring the whispers and focused his attention ahead of him.  
Some of the portraits seemed to recognise him as they went up the stairs, hushed anticipation falling over them. The Herbology teacher seemed to notice this, and spoke, breaking the tense silence that had fallen onto the air.

"The portraits seem to be interested in you. It's not every day a student just appears in the middle of the year." They were in front of the gargoyle that protected the headmaster's office, and if Harry wasn't mistaken, the current headmaster was Armando Dippet. "Strawberry mint" along with the gargoyle moving out of the way with a loud grumble broke Harry out of his trance.

Dippet was in the center of the room, at his desk, conversing with what looked to be a younger Dumbledore. He turned to face the entrance, as did Dumbledore.  
"Ah, Mrs.Rose, and you must be the boy everyone is talking about."  
Mr.Dippet said with a welcoming smile. Dumbledore stood over to the side seemingly taking in everything about him. It felt as if he were mentally under a microscope, being taken apart.  
He held back a shiver.

Dumbledore spoke up  
"So, do tell us how you managed to break past the wards..."  
He narrowed his eyes, pale blue piercing. It was weird seeing them without the grandfathering and mischievous twinkle in his eyes, no matter how fake it really was.  
He looked at his feet and apologised  
"I'm sorry sir, i don't know how I got here, I was just trying to get away." Dumbledore pushed on "From what?" Harry winced at the harsh tone of the question, laced with aggravation from not getting a clear answer. "Grindelwald's men" he whispered.  
Dippet's eyes widened and then narrowed in understanding, while Dumbledore grimaced at the answer.

Harry knew Dumbledore and Grindelwald had been lovers, and he must have hated the reminder about the war, and who they were fighting.  
Yet other than that he maintained his composure and pushed further  
"Grindelwald is fighting an entire war, why would he attack a child?"  
Harry answered with a hushed tone "Because of my name sir, it's Peverell."

The room fell into a hushed silence, and Dumbledore was about to ask another question when Dippet spoke  
"The boy's been attacked and doesn't even know where he is Albus, the last thing he needs is to be drilled with questions about it."  
Dumbledore seemed to accept this answer and pursed his lips, silencing himself.

Dippet continued, leaning toward in his chair and on his desk.  
"Do you know where you are?"  
Harry shook his head and answered "No sir, I don't"  
Dumbledore muttered something under his breath about it "Bit strange that a Perevell wouldn't know about Hogwarts"

Dippet ignored this, continuing  
"This is Hogwarts, my boy, one of the four magical schools in Europe, and if I say so the best of the four." His lips pulled into a smile "Though I may be a bit biased."  
Harry widened his eyes, feigning shock from the declaration  
"Oh, so this is Hogwarts then, father mentioned it once or twice." He said, frowning in memory of his father.  
"It's certainly everything I would have thought of and more." Awe easily came into his voice.

"Well I'm glad it has been…" Dippet paused, looking at Harry "Would you like to stay?"  
Harry looked up at the headmaster, exclaiming "What?!" In unison with Dumbledore.  
"You heard me correctly," He looked Dumbledore in the eye "This is one of the safest places to be, and until we figure out what to do otherwise, it's a good first choice."

Harry couldn't believe his ears, he didn't think it would be this easy.  
"You may learn and stay here,away from the wars, as well as be with peers your own age."  
"And it might be dangerous to be anywhere else if Grindelwald has already attached you once."  
"So how does that sound?" He looked at Harry for an answer.  
Harry thought there could only be one answer "Thank you sir.. I would love to..."  
Dippet smiled again, a slight twinkle in his eyes  
"Well then, it's settled. Welcome to Hogwarts Mr.Peverell."

He turned and got up from his chair, pulling a familiar brown hat with a face indented onto it from the shelves.  
The sorting hat.  
"This hat will sort you into one of the four houses here at Hogwarts, which are all equally unique in their own way. "

He gently sat the hat onto Harry's head, and the sorting hat began to speak.  
'Well, well, well Mr.Potter, it looks like I've already sorted you before, or I will in the future.'  
Harry tensed slightly at the statement  
'Don't worry I don't tell anyone, but it looks like you have a plan, very cunning, and full of ambition. This time you will most definitely go into'  
"Slytherin!"

Dumbledore sneered at the declaration, while Dippet held his smile as he took the sorting hat and put it back on the shelf.  
"Ah, Slytherin, cunning and ambitious.. I'll get one of the prefects to show you the dorms later, and we'll sort your schedule out as well. Drop by later today. How old are you Mr.Peverell?"  
Harry got off the stool and looked at Headmaster Dippet "I'm 15 sir. "  
Dippet nodded "You will be in 5th year then, and since you are now a student, I'm Headmaster Dippet," He gestured over to Dumbledore "this is Professor Dumbledore, he teaches transfiguration"and then at the Herbology teacher "and this is Mrs.Rose, she teaches Herbology"

She gave a curt nod to the headmaster, before turning to the door "Well I better be going, those Shrivelfigs aren't going to prune themselves. And good luck Mr.Peverell, I'll be seeing you in Herbology.." Harry thanked the headmaster again as she shut the door,and Dumbledore spoke up.  
"I should prepare for the next transfiguration class, stay out of trouble Mr.Peverell." And with that he left.

"Well it looks like it's just you and me now, I don't believe I ever got your first name Mr.Peverell."  
Harry blinked, he couldn't believe he forgot about that. "Oh it's Hadrian sir."  
Dippet nodded "Hadrian Peverell, it fits you well."  
"Thank you Headmaster"  
"Now about your outfit…." He motioned to Harry  
He looked down and flushed at what he saw  
His coat and shirt were damp and covered in dirt, while his jeans were ripped and his shoes were on their last leg. He looked like he really had been through a war, which wasn't too far from the truth.

"You don't have to worry about money, there is a Hogwarts student fund for getting the necessities for school, and you can use your family vault too of course."  
Harry wondered how the visit to Gringotts would go  
"Hadrian… if you don't mind me asking, would there be any way your parents could have survived?"

Harry flinched at this question but spoke anyway  
"I don't believe anyone could've survived the killing curse headmaster."  
Dippet grimaced and nodded, hesitant "I see."  
Harry tried to break the awkward silence "Should we go to Gringotts then?"  
Dippet went over to his desk again and grabbed his wand, then went back over to Harry "I do believe we should." He held out his hand, and asked Harry if he had ever side apparated  
"Yes sir, I threw up the first time" he answered as he took Dippets hand  
Dippet chuckled at this "Most people do." And then apparated.

When they got into Diagon Alley, Harry found it funny how little had changed. Of course the outfits and time had all changed, but there were still flocks of people, Ollivanders was still here, as well as Borgin and Burkes, and owl, quidditch, and clothing stores along with a variety of everything in between,

And of course at the center of it all was Gringotts in all it's goblin glory. When they went in, Dippet stopped at the entrance. "This is probably personal Hadrian, and I wouldn't want to intrude. I'll be here if you need me for anything"  
Harry was touched by his sincerity, it was nothing like his first trip to Gringotts  
"Thank you Headmaster" then gave him a genuine smile and walked to the front.

The head goblin stopped writing for a moment, looking down at him  
"And what might you need?"  
Harry collected his nerves and asked for a lineage test as well as access to the Peverell vault.  
The goblin raised one eyebrow and then said something in Gobbledegook  
A goblin appeared with a piece of parchment and a dagger, then told him to  
"Slice his hand over the paper and let the blood flow onto the paper."  
He did so, watching as the blood disappeared onto the paper.  
A few moments went by and when the words appeared he couldn't believe his eyes

Hadrian Arcturus Peverell  
Father:Andrew Arcturus Santiago (deceased)  
Mother: Haelynn Ruby Peverell (deceased)

Vaults:  
Potter Vault: (Locked due to Timeline split)  
Black Vault: (Locked due to Timeline split)  
Peverell Vault: 183,395,929 Gallons, 5,380 Sickies, 412 Knuts  
Slytherin Vault: (Locked, need permission from heir)  
Santiago Vault: 73,504 Gallons 6,544 Sickies, 834 Knuts (nullified, merged with Peverell Vault)

Relations: Black Family: Godfather bond (temporarily locked, timeline split)  
Slytherin Family: Horcrux (active)  
Gaunt Family: Horcrux (temporarily locked, timeline split)  
Potter Family: Blood (locked, timeline split)  
Santiago Family:Blood (Timeline split, active)  
Peverell Family:Blood (Timeline split, active)

The goblin then rolled up the parchment and handed it to Harry.  
"Whenever you want access to the vaults,just bring this paper, or the ring"  
Harry, still in shock from the lineage test, asked for the Peverell family ring  
After the goblin said something to another goblin that he couldn't understand, a ring with the Deathly Hallows was handed to him.  
He said "Thank you" to the goblin and put on the ring,then took about 100,000 Gallons out of the Peverell vault, which he kept in a moleskine pouch that was also in the Peverell vault. There were several useful things in the vault he would have it revisit.

After meeting up with Dippet at the entrance again, Harry got all the basics he needed for 5th year, books, clothes, as well as a few sweets just because.  
He went over to the Eeylops Owl Emporium where he got Hedwig, thinking of a pet he would never have again. However, next to the Emporium was a pet shop.

He didn't want to be completely lonely, and knowing Slytherin's reputation he was probably going to want some company. Besides, it wouldn't hurt to look around. As soon as he entered the store, he was assaulted with a mess of sounds. screeching, meowing, hissing, barking, tweeting and everything in between. Animals were packed together in cages, similar to a muggle pet shop. Even though it was a magical pet shop sadly the conditions were just about as horrid as a muggle one. He scanned the store, and his eye caught a blue otter-like creature. It seemed to shimmer in the dim light with yellow eyes. It reminded him of Hermionie's otter patronus. When it saw him the eyes slitted and it made a gurgling hissing noise.

He backed away, and was about to leave when he heard talking that sounded like hissing at the same time. It was a snake. So he could still understand parseltongue. He wondered if he could still speak it too. As he got closer he could understand the snake better  
~stupid humans, they are just scared of me. They should be~  
'Well here goes nothing.' Harry opened his mouth to speak to the snake, and was overjoyed and terrified to hear the familiar hissing speech come from him  
~hello there beautiful one, what are you doing in this cage?~

The black snake lifted it's head up in surprise, looking for the one speaking, and showing a bright blue underbelly contrasting with it's yellow eyes.  
The only thing the snake could think spoke it's language was the human in front of its cags  
~human is that you speaking the language of the snakes?~  
It seemed uncertain about this human, yet he felt different.  
Harry nodded and responded

~Yes it is me speaking, how would you like to get out of this cage?~  
The snake seemed overjoyed to meet a speaker, almost bounding out of its cage  
~Yesss! Please take me with you speaker~  
Harry seemed delighted about this answer,  
~I'll be right back, I have to get your cage open~

As he walked to the front he could hear a ~please hurry~ as he went  
The owner seemed hesitant to let a 15 year old have a snake like that, but Harry convinced him that they were magical for a reason and he would be fine.  
As soon as the owner opened the cage door, the snake slid onto Harry's shoulders, hissing in delight at the warmth and freedom.

~Thank you ssspeaker… tell me, what is your name?~  
Harry thought for a second about this then answered  
~My name is Harry, but if you wish you may call me Zenith~  
The snake seemed to nod at this, agreeing  
~I think Zenith suits you speaker, and what shall my name be?~  
Harry smiled as he walked out of the pet store ~It can be whatever you want it to be, but I would like to call you Caelum. It means sky, and I think you look like the most beautiful night sky with the brightest twinkling stars~  
The snake seemed to enjoy the flattery, hissing again in approval  
~I think it suits me, as Zenith does you~

They continued to talk about everything, and Harry eventually told Caelum about his life before traveling back in time as they walked to the edge of Diagon Alley, Headmaster Dippet walking beside them.  
Caelum eventually mentioned the headmaster, noticing his glances at the two  
~I believe the older human wants to talk to you, not many humans can speak the language of snakes.~  
Harry agreed and turned to Headmaster Dippet, asking him there was anything he wished to know.

Dippet sighed, responding with "No Hadrian, it's just not many people speak parseltongue,and it's said to be an ability held by the heir of Slytherin. Watch who you let know about that ability, especially not Dumbledore. He sometimes lets his paranoia lead his decisions."  
Harry could only agree with that statement, but supposed he needed to also act like he didn't know about the Heir of Slytherin.  
"Thank you Headmaster, but what do you mean Heir of Slytherin?"  
Dippet held out his hand, they were already at the end of Diagon Alley  
"Just an old myth some people take too far if you really want to know I suggest the library."  
Harry grabbed his hand and they apparated outside of Hogwarts. One of the pros of side-apparating with the headmaster was that the wards bent so they could apparate inside Hogwarts where it would normally be impossible for anyone else.

As they came back into the Headmasters office, someone said the password, the gargoyle stepping aside as a tall boy in Slytherin robes came in.  
"Greetings Prefect Carrow" Headmaster Dippet greeted  
Carrow had straight burgundy hair that was not unlike the dried color of blood and hazel eyes that were hungry and judging.  
He reminded Harry like a fox.

He was snapped out of looking at Carrow by Dippet talking  
"Hadrian, this is Mr.Carrow, and he will show you to the Slytherin dorms"  
Carrow only nodded curtly, his face still a mask but his eyes tearing apart the new prey.  
"And before you leave,Dumbledore and the other teachers put together your schedule for this year while we were gone"  
Headmaster Dippet handed Harry his schedule and then he left with Carrow.  
They walked in silence down to the dungeons and entrance of the Sytherin common room.

The only thing Carrow said was when he asked him if he was a pureblood, and the only response he received was a venomous glare from Harry.  
Nothing else was said until they reached the entrance to the common room, and Carrow explained that to enter you had to say the password, which changed often, so ask him or other Slytherin from time to time.

Carrow said the password right now was preservation, to which Harry did a mental eyeroll.  
Slytherins.  
Well he was one now, so he would have to adapt well.

As he entered the common room he was immediately met with surprise.  
The high ceiling had a fancy chandelier which of course were snakes, and the center of the room had a fireplace. Around the fireplace were chairs and a couch to each side. There were several people around the common room, some studying, talking or doing whatever.  
Directly in front of the fire was a large plush chair that looked more like a throne. It had snake heads as armrests.No one was sitting in that chair. There were two levels, with the higher level full of books and other things. There were almost no walls, with there being magical clear glass showing the lake, a dim green light covering everything with a creature passing by ever once in a while. Most everything was pleasantly green, but not overbearingly so with hints of black, brown, silver, and other subtle muted colors that complimented it.

To the left was the girls dorms, and to the right was the boys dorm.  
Carrow led him to the right, and showed him which room he would be in.  
There were four people to a room, and he got the one closest to the window.  
He sighed and fell onto his bed, closing the door and letting Caelum out of his robe.  
He had been around his neck since they got back from Diagon Alley, and both were happy they could relax. Harry warded his bed with strong defense and privacy charms, not wanting to be disturbed, then started speaking to Caelum.

~Carrow reminds me of a fox, it's like he wanted to eat me.~  
Caelum slithered onto Harry's stomach, getting comfortable before answering  
~Yess he did, you need to be careful of these snakes, they can be vicious~  
And Harry fully agreed.  
He pulled up Tempus again, showing that it was almost 8pm  
He sighed, relaxing into the covers and not even bothering getting under them, with Caelum on his stomach, he fell asleep.  
He would deal with everything tomorrow.

Unknown To Harry, later in the night three people returned to the dorm, one noticing the drawn curtains, dark blue eyes narrowing, flecks of red sparkling in the reflected moonlight of the lake, thinking he would find out about this boy tommorow.


	2. Inconnu

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Inconnu - an unknown person or thing
> 
> Harry wakes up to his first day at Hogwarts in 1942. He goes to the forest and finds someone interesting there, that may just changd his beliefs a bit. Then he continues on the day with his classes, and realizes very quickly how lonely he is.
> 
> Also warning, lots of angst and character death in a flashback of said character, as well as a bit of depressed Harry.

Harry woke up, and yawned, rubbing his eyes and letting them adjust to his surroundings. It was before the crack of dawn, with the barely lingering shine of moonlight reflecting under the lake, and into Harry's dorm. He sat up, going to get ready and take a morning stroll around Hogwarts. 

Caelum hissed in displeasure as his warm sleeping partner moved, laying him on the bed. He then muttered something unintelligible as he settled into the warm spot on the bed where Harry had been moments ago.

He walked to the door, looking around the dorm, meaning to survey his roommates before leaving. There were three beds to his left, the two furthest to the other wall had their curtains closed, he assumed him still in bed as most people were. 

Because of his time at the Dursleys, he had always had to wake up early to begin his chores, making sure to cook Breakfast for them and hope to perhaps skip a scolding or beating. He shivered at the memory, drawing his attention to the bed closest to him. The curtains drawn open, the owner already gone, leaving a neatly made bed behind with no evidence anyone had slept in it.

He didn't want to draw any unwanted attention to himself on his walk, teacher or student, so he cast a strong disillusionment charm, as well as one to make his steps soundless, a mild heating charm and a magic hiding spell just in case. If war taught him anything, it was that you could never be overprepared, but you could certainly be underprepared, and would pay dearly for it.

He gathered Caelum, the snake sliding onto his shoulders as he walked to the Slytherin bathrooms.  
They both enjoyed the warmth that the shower brought, Caelum mostly staying in the steam billowing forth from the water while Harry hummed as he washed. Then he put himself together, brushing his hair and teeth, before reapplying his charms and going into the common room.

As he expected, it was empty. Well almost. A figure sat in the plush chair-throne in front of the fire, he assumed for the leader of Slytherin, or at least a person of high power. He was glad he decided to put all those charms on, as the person wouldn't notice him go to the door to leave. He might notice the door creaking but that could be easily solved with a silencing spell. As he got closer he then recognised who it was, trying not to gasp, partly of shock and partly of fear.

It was Tom Riddle, and he looked straight out of the diary albeit, slightly younger. He had wavy dark brown hair caressing his scalp perfectly, and a curl that strayed onto his forehead, almost in his eyes, giving a sense of humanity to the otherwise seemingly perfect picture he posed. His posture was relaxed, his lips barely parted, and he was reading a book, stormy blue eyes focused. There were also what looked to be specks of red sparkling in the blue, a subtle but beautiful contrast. He didn't know if it was his eyes or just the fire reflecting, but either way it suited him. 

Harry focused his attention to the book he was reading, narrowing his eyes to look at the title. It was about the Chamber of Secrets. He reminded himself that he hasn't found and opened it yet, Myrtle was still alive and Hagrid wasn't expelled. He silently continued to the door, leaving Riddle to read his book. He almost found it nice that someone else enjoyed the time to relax, before the sun came up and everything came alive for the day, before scolding himself, this was Tom Riddle he was talking about.

He closed the door to the common room, going outside, and looking up. The sky was a light gray, with the sun starting to break through the night, showing everything in a mellow, soft light. He sighed, Caelum peeking his head out of his robes and suggested they go to the forest.  
~I'm hungry and I'm sure there are lots of juicy prey there, rabbits and birds and rats... ~  
At the mention of rats, Harry conjured a mental image of Pettigrew being one of the rats, and smirked in cruel amusement at the idea, him running away like the coward he was before being eaten by Caelum.

When they got to the edge of the forest Caelum slithered off to catch something, while Harry found himself absorbing all the details. It was the same forest he had been in when he was ready to die for the good of everything. It seemed like a distant memory, and the woods were quite nice when you weren't going to your death. Unlike Hogwarts, the forest was already fully alive,a chaotic symphony of noise with the whistling of birds, the clambering of hooves, and the gentle whoosh of a breeze through the leaves of trees. He laid down on a patch of soft moss, a fern leaf tickling his ear. He closed his eyes and let the feeling of the forest drown him, enjoying the peace he felt. 

He stayed like this for several minutes until a voice shook him from his trance.  
"Hello there Harry."  
It was a simple three words, but which sent Harry shooting up, looking for who was talking, and most importantly who knew him like that. He hadn't told anyone of his time travel, the exception being Caelum, but he was still out hunting. No one in this time should have known that name.  
He had his wand pointing at the speaker, ready to do whatever it took to defend himself and make sure they told no one else of what they knew. 

It was a person, dressed in billowing white robes with gold leaf accents, a golden olive leaf laurel upon their dirty blonde shoulder length hair that seemed to float along with the breeze, as if suspended there. They had soft grey eyes like the sky, with sharp silver edges that were somehow simultaneously caring and cold, they had the air of a ruler, and they were a few inches taller than Harry.

Harry held his wand at the person, questioning them about how they knew his name, and if they knew anything else. 

They simply smiled and answered, voice as clear as water "Well Harry, I know everything, as I was the one that guided you to the Turner and helped you get here."  
Harry looked at them with a face of shock, but not lowering his wand yet, as this could still possibly be a trick, and he needed to be prepared if that was the case.  
"I even set up your parents and bloodline and everything for this timeline at Gringotts, I thought you would be more appreciative"

Harry couldn't believe it, but there was proof right in front of him, this person didn't seem fully human, and had an otherworldly aura to them  
So he swallowed his pounding heart and asked them "Who are you? "  
They smiled again at this question and then did something with their fingers. Then the Time Turner was in their hands, twirling it as he spoke "I'm who you mortals may know as Time, or Tempus if you like, though Morty calls me Theo."

Harry knew that couldn't make that up, and the Time Turner in their hand which had previously been in his mole-skine pouch confirmed it.  
Time chuckled at Harry's staring, his mouth open as he tried to process everything. He wondered if beings like these had genders?  
As if they could read his mind,(Maybe they could who knew) Time answered his unspoken question "We immortals, or Gods if you will don't have a specific gender, however we can appear as anything, and currently I am enjoying a male form" 

Harry was at a loss for words, overwhelming was an understatement for everything he just learned. So he asked another question as he lowered his wand, putting it back in his pocket.  
"So why didn't you appear sooner? And who is Morty?"  
Time's eyes lit up at this Morty's name, and he gave his answer "Well you see, I wanted to make sure you were at a place where you wouldn't be overwhelmed by all this information, and of course I can't appear with others around. I didn't want to appear in your past because you might have thought you went crazy and not taken everything as well. "

Harry could understand this reasoning, any anger he had for the immortal disappearing with the others words.  
"And Morty is my counterpart, my other half… he's everything to me. Of course you would know him as Death. His name is actually Mortimer though. And mine is Theodore."  
Harry thanked him for the name to go with the immortal other than simply Time. Yet he knew he still had questions, and from the knowing look in Theodore's eyes and the not so subtle smirk, so did he.

"It's alright, go ahead and ask what you want to know, we've got all the time in the world,"  
There was a twinkle at those words, and Harry knew he was the God of Time for a reason.  
"So why didn't Mortimer come and see me?"

Theodore nodded, as if he had expected that question. His eyes sharpened a bit and there was a hint of aggravation in his next words. "Mortimer decided to be a prick and not come and see you with me. Apparently he's still salty about me not letting you die first and then bringing you back. I suppose he wanted to greet his favorite Master of Death again by himself. He's always had a flair for dramatics. " He sighed and then lowered his voice to a pouty grumble, not unlike a child "And yet he wouldn't come see his so called favorite with his beloved, the asshole."

It was then Harry felt a cold slithering up his leg, with a pleased hiss and a familiar black and blue body. Caelum shifted as he settled onto Harry's shoulders again, a bit heavier after eating his fill. Harry smirked as he stroked his scaly head. Caelum leaned into the touch, almost purring, if a snake could purr. ~Did you eat plenty of fat rats?~  
Caelum continued to push against Harry's warm hand stroking him, hisses filling with pride ~Yess they could never escape me… I strike even before they realize they are dead~ Harry smiled at this, the snake was very confident in his abilities, and it was a bit cute. Though Harry would never tell Caelum that.

Theodore walked a few steps closer toward Harry to observe the snake. He seemed to duck his head in respect of the immortal, as if he knew how powerful he was. Theodore made a fat rat appear that looked oddly familiar, through the squirming and squeaks he noticed there were toes missing from the rat. He almost fell back laughing at Theodore's gift to Caelum, and he wondered if that was the real Pettigrew in some universe. Good riddance.

"You have a fine familiar Harry, part occamy and cobra, and very magical." Theodore seemed to be stroking Caelum's ego, and he knew it. Caelum held his head high at the words of the immortal. Then it was Harry's turn to speak on the matter, and he noted he needed to pay more attention, he was constantly overlooking things and then ended up being shocked at the revelations. "So you are part occamy Caelum?" Caelum nodded at this, not angry but instead understanding and willing to show proof. ~Yess Zenith, I kept it mostly hidden because humans are too greedy and tend to take what isn't theirs….~

Harry caught the insinuation, and he knew it was true, occamies were rare, and if certain people ever found out they might hurt or even kill Caelum by experimenting on him or trying to get some of the occamy's coveted eggs, the purest and softest silver to exist. It was a top tier magical ingredient with no equal and was the most effective when making silver weapons, deadly to vampires and werewolves, as well as making wounds that not even magic could heal. He swore he would never let anyone take Caelum from him, and he told him this too. ~I'll never let anyone do that, or take you from me Caelum… I swear..~

Caelum seemed touched, lifting his cobra hood, exposing some noticeable deep blue, purple and red feathers fading to black. ~Thank you Zenith… And I'll never let anyone take you away from me or harm you either...~ He bared his venomous fangs for emphasis, and Harry noticed how vivid his pointed slits were in yellow eyes. Certainly magical.

Theodore chuckled at the two, marveling at how protective they were together. There were no questions why Caelum was his familiar, with them both adoring the other, and with a loyalty that couldn't be broken. Harry had a special kind of loyalty. It was not bought but earned over time, and only a few ever got the privilege of having it. It was heavily intertwined with love, and the line was heavily blurred, he would do anything for them, anything.

He knew it well, because despite what some may think, he too was a human at one time, and when he died, he and his lover were torn apart,but their love transcended death, and at last when he joined him, they became immortal. 

There was a time when Theodore had been Arthur, and Mortimer had been Merlin. He had Merlin by his side at every moment, loving him in every second. Even though Arthur wasn't magic, he was the fairest and best king Camelot had ever seen. He lifted the ban on magic, and eventually had a powerful wizard by his side, the most powerful in all of Camelot if not the world.. Merlin never ceased to amaze him, every day showing him something new with his magic, or perhaps an idea that could only be conjured from that great brain of his. They treasured each moment they had, and hoped to continue to do so together always.  
It was perfect.

Then one day there was a campaign, a nearby king had declared war on Camelot, stating the king was weak and had to hide behind a wizard. He declared he would kill Arthur, cleaning the land from his filth. If he wouldn't fight he vowed to hunt Merlin down with all of his resources, until Arthur's everything was dead. He didn't take him seriously until a close call with a poison that could have killed Merlin if he drank from the cup instead of accidentally spilling it on the table, the cloth eroding quickly with an unpleasant gurgle. That could have been Merlin. Of course Arthur couldn't allow that.The king had magic banned in his country, and his people only suffered under his rule. Unlike Arthur, he ruled with fear, not loyalty, and it showed.

When the battle came that day, it was clear who the winner was from the start. Camolot's soldiers tore through the other army, and it was only the two kings in the end. The king had cursed the two of them, a barrier that blocked out everything else, including Merlin's desperate cries, his attempts to help, using all his magic until he fell to the ground exhausted. Hooked in a battle to the death, knowing only one would come out. They were both exhausted, and when the king took a dagger from his boot, Arthur was prepared. But he wasn't prepared for what happened next. Instead of using the dagger against Arthur, he threw it. Right at Merlin's neck. Arthur could only watch in horror, he wasn't looking, he was going to get hit by the dagger. The next thing he knew he calling out "Merlin watch out!"

Merlin looked up and the dagger stopped. But Merlin's face wasn't relief like Arthur's was, at the fact that Merlin was alive. No it was horribly twisted in pain and horror as he looked him in the eyes. His beautiful eyes were full of unshed tears, and that's when he felt it.

Pain. It hurt, It hurt more than he could ever think was possible.There was a warm dark red liquid coming from his stomach, gushing, and it wasn't stopping.  
The other king smirked as he dug the sword deeper into Arthur's abdomen, Arthur almost passed out from the excruciating pain, but he managed to grip his sword tightly and force enough energy to chop the king's head off. He turned his head slightly to avoid the spray of blood, wincing at the effort, then falling to his knees.  
His vision was getting blurry, and he was suddenly very tired.

He could hear Merlin rush over to him, begging him "Please Arthur stay with me, don't leave, you need to live, Camolot needs you, " his voice cracked as he poured his magic into the wound, trying to fix it, but it wasn't working, nothing was, he whispered, a plea "I need you.."  
Everything hurt, and he could see spots in his vision, he looked over to the sword that he had been stabbed with. It was magical silver of the highest quality, occamy silver, resistant to all things magic, and always lethal. Only one person could have managed such a thing. Morgana. 

He pulled all of his strength to clasp his hand onto Merlin's arm weakly. "It won't work" Merlin continued to pour his magic into the wound trying, even though it was useless. He was shaking and only because of his sheer amount of magic was he still functioning. "No no no it has to work, it has to" Arthur 's vision was blackening now, he knew he didn't have much time. But he didn't want Merlin to kill himself trying to save him. He knew he couldn't "It's occamy's silver" he rasped. Merlin stopped. His magic was everywhere around him, frantic and desperate, trying to save him while keeping Merlin alive. Merlin let out a sob as he pulled Arthur closer "I love you, I love you, I love you.." he kept chanting as if it would heal Arthur up, so they could go home, and then kiss in bed after an amazing night and continue their perfect life. 

But that all was going now, going with the light in Arthur's bright eyes as he finally shut his eyes.

And with him a part of Merlin's soul left too that day. After Arthur's death, Merlin's magic ravaged everything but his body, the only sign of the fierce battle they had won that day, the price far too high.

Merlin looked and looked for a way to bring back his beloved, he went into the darkest magic imaginable. For Arthur he said. For Arthur. It was his mantra, close to the only thing keeping him sane, until finally, he gave up.

He accepted death, only wanting to see his beloved again, and knowing that eternity without him was hell.

They met at what looked to be a copy of Camelot Castle, more specifically, the throne room.  
Arthur had been dealing with some phantom subjects, his eyes dim and glassy, with dark purple rings underneath them. It had been too long, far too long, and he didn't even know why he was here, reliving his life, but it was awful without Merlin there.

Until he finally came. He heard the door open, nothing unusual, however it was the person on the other side that caught his attention. 

It couldn't be. Fate couldn't be that cruel as to mock him by sending a phantom of Merlin to torture him, only to remind him they were apart and quite possibly would never see each other again. Yet there was a tiny part of him he had stuffed down deep inside a long time ago. The part that hoped for Merlin to come back and reunite with him. Hope was a powerful thing. It could inspire armies and men to do the impossible, or it could eat you from the inside out with the unsaid what ifs and promises of tomorrow being the day, blindly leading you to the edge.

Arthur had always been the impulsive one though, with Merlin being his balance. He threw the quiet whispers and warnings, the begging of 'Don't hope, don't let it tear me apart again' to the back of his head and swallowed thickly, getting off his throne and approaching him slowly, as if he might run away at any moment.

"Merlin?" It was a hoarse, desperate plea, begging, willing this to be real. And as the figure stood there in silence, eyes boring into Arthur's unblinking, seconds going by, Arthur almost regretted thinking it really was him. It was too good to be true, until the figure moved, pulling Arthur into a tight grasp and when he finally heard the other speak, voice equally hoarse and pained "Arthur" he felt like sobbing, of happiness, to express what he had lost all the years he spend without Merlin, the hole in his chest swallowing him alive.

When they pulled apart they were bound by silence promises to the other to never let them go again.

A figure then materialized behind them, wearing a simple toga with a red sash and a headband to tame his unruly orange hair.  
"Who are you? "Arthur whispered, scared he was going to try and separate him and Merlin again after they had just reunited. Merlin clutched his shoulder and pulled him closer, eyes looking to the man, warning him if he should try anything.

"I'm Fate, but you may call me Florence", he said with a bow, "And don't worry, I'm not here to separate you again. The first time was already terribly heartbreaking"  
Arthur relaxed into Merlin's chest, inhaling his scent, willing himself never to to get it again.  
"You two were so genuinely in love that you quite literally broke fate's decision. That doesn't happen often, and Magic decided she wanted to help you."  
Merlin hesitantly walked toward, Arthur attached at his hip  
"What exactly do you mean by help?"

Florence sighed, then explained "you two are supposed to be dead, either memories stripped and then living again on Earth as someone else, or to Nowhere where you will forever be forced to stay for eternity, slowly going insane forever."  
Arthur stiffened at this, clearly unhappy and unsettled "Why would we go to Nowhere? We haven't done anything wrong!"

Florence was patient though, he was Fate for a reason and this wasn't his first time dealing with this sort of thing "You haven't done anything really deserving to go to Nowhere, but Merlin does."  
Arthur looked horrified, turning to Merlin and taking his arm tightly in his and then stepping in front of him, as if to protect him from whatever was to come.  
Florence continued despite this, as he was sure Arthur wanted even just a little bit to know what Merlin had done to deserve such a thing.

"He murdered an entire village, while chasing after one of Morgana's men. There were innocents, children, elderly, it wasn't their time yet. His magic destroyed everything in his path after he lost you. He didn't care who he hurt, only knew that he wanted them to suffer as he did."  
Merlin hung his head in shame, remembering that particular day and wincing.  
"However, I said that Magic wanted to help you, and you won't go to Nowhere if you take her offer. I suggest you do, it's very generous considering the alternative."

Merlin hesitated, swallowing thickly before agreeing. "Alright, I'll take her offer, but you won't separate us right?"  
Florence shook his head "No, even we are not that cruel."

When they took Florence's hand, they didn't know what to expect.  
They didn't think it would be something reminiscing of a castle tower, with high glass walls and stairs leading to the stars and planets above. There was an entire map of stars underneath their feet, and it appeared to be moving. However that was not the most impressive thing. It was the giant clock that hung to their left, swinging with a great force as if threatening to bring down the tower, but it wouldn't, it would only continue to swing, an empty threat looming.

There were a few people walking around the tower, and they followed Florence as he led them closer to a dark skinned woman with hair so black it seemed almost blue, with carmel highlights faded in. Her robe was a deep royal purple that went down to the floor, with white trim and golden accessories. She stopped talking to the person she was conversing with shortly before they arrived as Florence greeted her.

She held out a hand to Merlin who firmly shook it as Arthur had shown him many times before.  
"Nice to finally meet the two who have put a wrench in Florence's plans, everything usually goes exactly how he wants it. I'm Magic as you probably know, but you can call me Margo. "  
Theodore asked if she needed anything else, and she declined the offer dismissing him.  
He wished Arthur and Merlin good luck and he hoped to see them again.

She brought a professional looking contract out before giving them both a quill and ink.  
She then explained what the contract and deal pertained to  
"Signing this contract will make you immortal, and to mortals, a god. You will have a specific set of duties to do, as there are all specific gods for different things."  
She turned to Merlin and pointed at his contract in front of him. "You will be Death, and your job is to collect the souls that need to pass on to the next part of life."  
Then she turned to Arthur and explained his as well " You will be Time, your job is to keep the timelines stable and adjust things as you see fit. "  
"You both can pick another name to use besides Arthur and Merlin, and you will be granted powers in line with your duty. Other than that you have complete freedom."  
They both signed their contracts at the same time, becoming Theodore and Mortimer from then on, Death and Time.

Theodore came back from the memory,and even though he had recounted the entire memory of becoming an immortal, it had only been a few seconds in reality. Such was one of the advantages to being Time. But he really shouldn't keep Harry, even if time was stopped.  
He reminded Harry he still had to go to classes, to which Harry already had a response.  
"But how will I contact you when I leave? It's not as if I've got a handy mind link connected to you" Theodore chuckled at Harry's humor and put the Time Turner around his neck.  
"Well Harry, if you need anything, just spin the Time Turner and I'll come.You have to be alone though, and no one else can use this, it will always come back to you"

Harry smiled at this, accepting this answer before turning to Theodore and telling him goodbye as he left for his first class of the day. Since he had left, barely an hour had gone by, despite being there for over 3 hours. He wondered exactly how time worked, and if there were limits on what Theodore could do.

His first class was Transfiguration with Dumbledore, and that was more than enough to sour his previously good mood. Not only did he have an unprecedented hate toward Slytherins, he also was suspicious of him, from the moment they met. He hated it, and looking back it was all too obvious how manipulative Dumbledore was. But he knew, and he wouldn't fall into his trap.

He almost groaned as he saw who he had Transfiguration with. Of course it was with Gryffindors, the house Dumbledore adored and treated like his gold trophy. And you would be punished if you dared touch that trophy. He sat in an empty seat in the second to front row, not wanting to sit down near any of the Gryffindors or Dumbledore, the loud chattering and snickering of said house getting louder by the minute. Harry couldn't deal with it anymore and wordlessly cast a muddling charm while he waited on Dumbledore to come and class to start.

When he came in almost 5 minutes later, the Gryffindors suddenly stopped talking, as a spoiled kid would do in front of his mother when pretending to be a nice perfect innocent child trying to get what he wanted.

Dumbledore then started talking about the basis of Transfiguration, most of which he already knew, so he made the conscious decision to turn him out for the moment being.

That ended being a mistake on his part, as it seemed like an incentive for Dumbledore to call on him. "Mr.Peverell, could you please demonstrate transfiguration of your quill to a bird?"  
Harry weighed the pros and cons of showing Dumbledore up, and giving him the most impressive bird he had ever seen. Perhaps a Phoenix, so he could set that horrible outfit on fire and do everyone's eyes a favor. However that would only continue to increase the attention and interest a certain Slytherin boy by the name of Tom Riddle had in him, which he didn't want to do, so he gave the weakest effort he could manage to turn the quill into a bird, thinking of something tiny, like a songbird, or perhaps a hummingbird he thought.

What he didn't expect was for his quill to turn into a golden snitch. Well at least he proved he was incompetent. Maybe Tom and Dumbledore would leave him alone then.  
Wait a second. It was breathing!  
The Golden Snidget suddenly took flight, and it really did look like a golden snitch, only with feathers and a tail.  
It darted across the room a few times and then landed on a Slytherins desk (Toms desk) before going back to sleep, changing back into a quill, only now it was a quill from the feather of a Golden Snidget.

The class fell upon a hushed silence as they watched the bird and where it had landed, then turned their eyes to him expectantly.  
He didn't want to see which desk it landed on, but he could definitely feel those blue eyes boring even deeper into the back of his head.  
Oh dear, it was like being the boy who lived all over again.  
Dumbledore cleared his throat, and then spoke, breaking the silence.

"Well Mr.Peverell, maybe next time you shouldn't be a show off and cause a disturbance in class.Just do what I ask. 5 points from Slytherin."

At least he didn't call on him again for that class period.

When the class ended, he ran up to go to his next class, not wanting to stay a second longer in that blasted classroom with that old coot.

He hoped the next class would go better.

The next class was Potions, and for once, he wasn't dreading going down to the dungeons and sitting down in front of a cauldron.  
Snake had always been out to get him, which ironically clashed with his desire to protect his mom's son. The man couldn't even get over the fact he looked like James Potter, he was his own person, but Snape didn't see him as that.

When Slughorn began talking he could feel the familiar burn in the back of his head as he took notes. He resisted the urge to shiver. He couldn't show any signs of weakness or being intimidated, just ignore him. It was very hard, but somehow he finished as Slughorn concluded their lesson, stating they would be using the cauldrons tomorrow. He sometimes fiddled with the cauldron in the basement of Black Manor, becoming actually somewhat good at it, sometimes changing recipes and seeing how they reached to temporarily curb his boredom. So he was actually a little excited to see how adequate he was, but then remembered he had to blend in.

Oh well he could always had after classes. 

The next class was his favorite, DADA, and when he got inside the classroom, his gut sank at the sight. All the tables and chairs were temporarily gone, and replaced with a cabinet in the center of the room. He begged that his worst fear was still a dementor, but he know that he was lying to himself.  
The teacher introduced herself as Professor Hawthorn, a short woman with curly light brown hair that sprung out of her ponytail, as if he was constantly touching a plasma ball. She told them they were going to face their boggart, which turned into their biggest fear, and the spell they were going to use was 'Riddikulus'.

They all lined up in a line to face the cabinet, Harry putting himself at the end of the line, hoping maybe class would end before it was his turn.  
He learned that no matter what timeline you were in, there were always people who had common fears like spiders, snakes, and sharks. One girl's showed an angry man, yelling at her and she started trembling, unable to move. Mrs.Hawthorn had to step in do the spell for her, and then have someone take her to the infirmary and check up on her home life. 

Tom's was the same as it had always been, a small simple unmarked grave, which when he saw he sneered in disgust and shouted "Riddikulus!" Voice seething and full of venom he turned away.

There were only a few more more people to go, and class still hadn't ended. He was getting worried he might actually have to face his boggart, and he didn't know how everyone might react to whatever they saw.

The last boy in front of him went, a clown appeared, and he shrieked. There were a few giggles from the side of the classroom where everyone was watching, and Mrs.Hawthorn hissed "quiet!"  
He eventually was able to cast the charm, going over and joining the rest of the group.

He stepped up to the cabinet, waiting.  
And then Ginny appeared.  
He wasn't overall shocked by this, she was often seen as his greatest failure, alone with the lack of an heir and any promise to the future.

She walked forward and stopped a few feet from him, her face contorted in poorly disguised disgust. She simply said "I'm done" then turned to walk away, to leave before the boggart changed again.  
This time it was Hermionie and Ron, who said he'd changed and to never talk to them again, before leaving him.

And finally the boggart changed a final time, to Tom Riddle, from the diary. He held the diary one hand, bearing no marks on it, fully intact. In the other was his wand, which he had stolen.  
His face turned to something he thought he would never live to see. Disappointment  
He looked at Harry, those red eyes glowing, but not on him, seemingly looking through him, as if he were nothing. He said "I don't want you" and pointed his want at his face.

Not even Tom Riddle wanted him, and for some reason that hurt the most.  
He shed a single tear before looking him in the eye, responding emotionlessly simply "Do it."  
Tom's eyes continued to shine with disappointment, as he uttered the killing curse, and it seemed to go straight to his heart.

He almost wished it would've worked, but of course it was just a boggart, and so it went through him, leaving only the faintest chill. He muttered "riddikulus.." shoving the boggart into the cabinet before promptly leaving the room. He knew all the eyes were on him, he could hear their whispers, but yet.. He didn't care, he just felt numb. Except for a pair of eyes he knew were staring at the back of his head, which felt like an arrow to the heart.

The rest of the day went by in a blur.  
He had charms and runes, and he couldn't even find it in him to look if Tom was in either of those classes, just doing whatever the teachers asked him and answering their questions. When had Tom Riddle become Tom? Honestly he didn't have the answer, nor enough energy to care.

When he returned to his dorm he lay quietly, behind many spells and charms, but he still didn't feel safe. After all there were no such spells to protect him from himself, nor to fill the empty aching he felt.

Caelum knew something was wrong, but he couldn't find the words to comfort him. After all he was only a snake. This called for another human. But Zenith didn't have one yet. So until then he unfurled his hood, exposing the soft feathers along his scales and letting him stroke them.

He felt the tiniest bit better.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So there is chapter two.  
> Please tell me what you think!  
> The classes weren't in much detail, but that's because it wasn't really the focus of the chapter.  
> Next chapter will be Tom-centric, with more detail of the classes and Tom's thoughts about it all and where he is on his dark lord plan  
> I want to try and alternate between Harry's and Tom's POV becsuse i see a bunch of Harry POV but almost none of Toms.
> 
> Idk maybe it's just me.
> 
> Comments, kudos and constructive criticism is appreciated!


	3. Litost(1st and 2nd Chapter Tom POV)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Litost - remorse; a state of agony and torment or sorrow
> 
> So this is basically the first and second chapter in Tom's POV
> 
> I apologise for the plot not really going anywhere and the short length. I'm trying to make my chapters longer 
> 
> Tom watches the new student as they go through their classes. He might have assumed wrongly about them.  
> It's slowly turning into an obsession, and he doesn't know if he is upset or excited about that.  
> Perhaps he could recruit them into his ranks.  
> Read on to find out!

Tom was eating in the Great Hall, at the center of the Slytherin table, listening to his followers talk about pureblood politics, as they occasionally asked for his opinion. It was part of his daily routine, and he found that with each passing day he continued to find himself easily bored with it all.

Despite being a budding dark lord, his life at the current moment was so boringly predictable. Having to gain the favor of purebloods and teachers, making connections and gathering followers, and finding that blasted chamber. However he knew that it was all necessary in the future if he wanted his plan to succeed fully. One didn't take over the world with only bloodthirsty power and fear, as appealing as that sounded.

He silently transfigured one of the pieces of sausages on his plate into a mouse, enjoying the undignified squeals of a few people at the table. Avery was beside him, and he had yet to react to the scurrying creature, watching it with careful eyes as it looked for a way out, and away from the noise and chaos of the hall. There was a reason he was his second in command, he was very powerful and cunning, with many connections and always composed. He was only outclassed by Tom, though no one at the table could beat him. He was very pleased at this fact, wanting to keep only the best in his ranks.

He let it attempt to find a way out and off the table for a few moments, to no avail, and he sighed. He pulled out his wand and silently sent a snapping charm to it's neck, killing it instantly. The table was silent as hey kept their eyes on the rat, it's legs twitching for a few moments before going still. The majority of his inner circle didn't outwardly react, other than a few slightly flinching, fear running silently through their irises, the only sign of emotion on their faces. Such a leisurely display of power, quick and lethal reminded people of why he was here today, the unspoken leader of Slytherin. He would never let them forget that again, or give them the opportunity to make him feel powerless and weak as he had in the orphanage. He smirked as he remembered his triumph that had led him here today.

He had been determined to climb the ranks of Slytherin and be respected, to the point where there was no question if he was still 'a filthy mudblood', but at least a halfblood, with his power and talent. When he defeated two fourth years his first year and made them yield in front of everyone, he could feel the social ladder start to shift. But he wasn't satisfied. By his third year he had defeated three seven years, one being a prefect, and sending them to the infirmary, It was a clear message. Anyone who opposed him would be punished without mercy, this was a warning for all. Only a few cocky older years tried to oppose him again, and after they got back from the infirmary they were never the same. 

There was a particular Slytherin however, that annoyed Tom to no end. Prefect Carrow was always in the background, watching Tom as he climbed the social ladder and put people in their place, saying nothing. Just judging and listening. It was almost worse than the disdain some held for him. Eventually Tom had enough and challenged him to a duel in fourth year, to which Carrow had the audacity to decline. As soon as Carrow turned his back, Tom sent a violent stinging hex to teach him a lesson. He simply flicked out his wand, casting a shield charm and the hex bounced away, catching someone in the crowd that was behind them. 

Despite the screams of agony in the background, neither paid any attention to them. Carrow narrowed his eyes, eyes briefly flashing with something and he spoke. "I'm neither for or against you Riddle, but should you attack me again you will force my hand, and you will regret it. You would do well to remember that you don't control everything." His face darkened, as Tom tensed and held back a shiver. It was a clear threat, one he didn't want to see him carry out.

It could only bring more problems. But so far he had managed, ignoring Carrow and instead putting his energy toward his plans. When he had shown the Slytherins he could speak Parseltongue, anyone who had hesitated to bow down because of his status as a mudblood did then. It was a trait shared by Salazar Slytherin, one of the purest bloods of all, and along with his power and followers, he declared himself the Ruler of the Slytherins. And no one dared object, Carrow still silently watching from the shadows. But no matter, eventually he would make him fall too. And it would be all the sweeter. 

So he continued with this schedule, until that particular day one of his lower followers approached him at the end of Breakfast, out of breath and excited to tell him about a new student seen walking to the headmaster's office. It would have been nothing unique usually, but it was the middle of the school year, with no announcement, nothing that could have hinted at them coming before they just appeared. 

Even curiouser was that they were seen walking with Mrs.Rose from the direction of the greenhouse and forbidden forest, in clothes that looked nothing like school robes, or anything remotely pureblood, but simply jeans, a shirt and a coat. And those were worn and covered in dried blood and dirt, wet with snow. They seemed to just ignore the whispers from everyone as they walked, and he was tense and cautious, as if they were wary of bring attacked at a moment's notice.

Nothing ever got by Tom, he had eyes and ears everywhere, and if anyone was to be expected at Hogwarts, transferred or otherwise he would have known. So something was definitely missing here, and he would find out what it was. From the description, apparently he had pitch black hair that was wavy and about the length of the nape of his neck, and olive skin. His eyes were a vivid acid green that were unreadable, and there were scars all over his body.  
Hec carried himself as if he went through a war, his eyes darting around every few seconds, looking for an enemy that wasn't there.

He went through the day, not hearing about the boy and excelling in everything as he usually did, until the end of Charms, when Prefect Carrow was called up to the front of the class, before nodding and leaving, in the direction of the headmaster's office.

He narrowed his eyes, irritated at not knowing what was going on, and that they picked Carrow of all people to be the one that would show him everything about Hogwarts. At least Carrow was a Slytherin, so that would probably mean the boy was one too.

He had a free period after charms, so he told Avery to send word to come to the common room. Avery nodded at this, going to spread the order,as he went to the dungeons and opened the common room. When he entered,his followers who had been waiting for his arrival lowered their heads in acknowledgement. They sat around him in the couches and chairs surrounding the fireplace as he sat on the throne, a not so subtle sign of his superiority.  
The firelight reflected off the dark mahogany and green velvet as he looked across the room, over his followers.

The room was covered in a blanket of thick silence as he let his magic flow freely. It worked excellently at intimidating people, feeling like an almost pitch black hand around their throat, all too able to simply squeeze and silence them for good. It surrounded the room, as if hiding a secret that was not to be shared, or feel hell of retribution.

When he spoke, all eyes immediately went to him, fearing what would happen if they didn't.  
"Tell me everything you know about this new boy, and how he managed to evade every single one of you. Even those of you who I thought could not fail me."  
Lestrange was the first to speak up, a bold move Tom noted, as the rest bowed their heads in shame. "There wasn't any discussion of anyone new coming to Hogwarts, My Lord, and the transfer students have already started at the beginning of this semester,there is no information about the boy anywhere."

Tom sighed, he knew all this, but it was infuriating that there wasn't a single thing that would connect to the boy, no history, no connections, and no one knew anything about him. He just… appeared out of nowhere. Well the boy would start classes tomorrow, and since he was in Slytherin it was a perfect set up. He would question the boy, and he would pick him apart, find out where he came from, who he was and why he was here, whether he liked it or not. Tom Marvelo Riddle always got what he wanted. And this boy was his new target.  
He was getting tired of his schedule anyway.

"I figured as such. If any of you have classes with him, I want you to learn as much as you can about him, and report everything you find to me. Don't scare him away, think like a snake and slither closer to him and get him to trust you before you strike, patience is key. " They all nodded at this, excited to have prey to chase, and eager to earn Tom's approval 

"Now that is settled, Malfoy, tell me about the current state of the ministry, is there anything I should know?"  
Malfoy told him about how the ministry was obsessing over the raids Grindelwald was making, and there were rumors that he was in relations with the German Nazi party that was raging war with the muggles. Malfoy sneered as the word muggles left his mouth, as if it left a putrid taste on his tongue.  
"I understand, and if that is all, you may go to your classes if you have any and continue until I call you again. Remember your task, and do not fail me. " His magic whipped around in finality, and with a promise of pain if they failed him. There was a universal shiver as they rushed away, leaving a little at a time, to not arouse suspicion.

Then he was the only one left, and he went to the library in the restricted section. He was looking for anything that might lead him to the Chamber of Secrets, which would cement his right as the Heir of Slytherin and also give him a Basilisk to threaten people with. One could never be too extra. 

He found two books that looked promising, one in with parseltongue notes that Salazar Slytherin had written, and the other from one of his housemates, who had been looking for the Chamber. He determined that it was on the upper floors, at least on the second floor, and in a fairly easy place to get into, as Salazar seemed to just disappear whenever he went to the Chamber, and reappearing when wished. 

When he left the library it was already close to night, the last slivers of sunlight falling beneath the horizon, and it was almost curfew. He went back to the common room, surprised to see Carrow of all people walking out of the boys dorms. So he was back, and that must mean the boy was too. Carrow ignored his glares and walked past him, opening the door to go do his prefect rounds around the castle. 

Malfoy, Lestrange and Avery as well as a few other boys were in the Slytherin bathrooms getting ready for the night. When Tom came in they quickly finished so their Lord could have the bathroom to himself, and they didn't want to be punished for staying. He took off his uniform and hissed as he got into the shower and the hot water hit his back. He wondered about the boy, but he couldn't let his curiosity blind him from his plans.

While he scrubbed himself with soap and shampoo he went over his mental checklist of things he needed to achieve, a habit that he had picked up while at orphanage planning his revenge on the children. 

One, he needed to continue to increase his power, position and influence, so people would know about the dark lord he would become. He also needed a name to go with the fear people felt, one they would be terrified to utter. He had been partial to Lord Voldermort, as the sentence 'I am Lord Voldermort' was an anagram for his name, and he found it clever.

Two, he needed to find the Chamber of Secrets. It would give him immense standing in the pureblood community and give definite evidence he was the Heir without any doubt to those who still didn't believe he was, and the Basilisk. He could use it to kill anyone really in the school, for those who looked it in the eye would die. His enemies would shake in fear for the dark lord he would become.

Three, he needed to find a way to stop going back to that damned orphanage. Since he wasn't of age yet he had to go back to his legal residence. It never was and never would be his home, and if not for the fact he had to go back there he would burn the place to the ground. His pride would never let him accept an offer from one of his followers. He was Tom Riddle, and he didn't take charity. Charity was pity, and he detested it. No, he would figure it out himself, like he always had.

Four, he needed to find out more about that damn boy. It was driving him insane, and the sooner he could prove that he was just an uninteresting boy with nothing to offer him but a sad sob story, the sooner he could get rid of that distraction. 

He rinsed off and put a towel around his waist, endlessly casting a drying spell and gathering his clothes. After putting them on and composing himself he went to his dorm. Avery and Malfroy were already in their beds, curtains drawn down. But the bed closest to the window that was normally empty was occupied, the curtains down and privacy wards applied. He found this peculiar and wondered if he was lucky enough to share a dorm with the new student.

He considered breaking through the wards and using legilimency to get the information he wanted. However that might break his mind, and if it didn't, break his trust. He needed to know if he were useful to him before handling him carelessly and discarding him. He narrowed his eyes and then went to his own bed, applying charms in Parseltongue to protect himself before allowing himself to sleep.

He woke up a few hours before sunrise, the moon still high in the sky. It was a habit of his to wake up earlier than everyone else to have some freedom and time to himself. The bullies at the orphanage would often attack him while he was asleep, and it was a nightmare, so he stopped sleeping, and ran away to the yard at first light to hide. When he got his own room and had some control of his magic, it was also the perfect time to do things and not get caught, such as hanging Billy's rabbit. 

Opening up his chest in Parseltongue, he pulled out the book he had been reading about the Chamber and went to the common room. It was empty as expected, the fireplace dead and the room dim with the little light that came through the lake. He lit the fire with magic and sat down to read his book. It was of little help, and the author never found the Chamber, the book finishing with them leaving Hogwarts and stating that it was impossible to find unless you already knew where it was. At one point he had felt a cold chill through the room, a slight breeze going past his chair. But he didn't detect anything or anyone with his magic and dismissed it as nothing. If it was a threat he would have known, after all he was the best at detecting magic and the most powerful as well, so nothing got by him.

By the time the sun came up, he was already prepared fully for the day, and he was going to return the book to the library. As he put the book back, he found himself bitter that the books were so heavily moderated and edited. All the books about or relating anything to the dark arts were of little use, so watered down and light acceptable that they provided virtually no actual instruction, just warnings and commentary.

His first class was Transfiguration with Dumbledore, and he sat in his seat waiting for Dumbledore to arrive. He hated the man, and it seemed the feeling was mutual. In every other class teachers would constantly call on him because of his accurate and detailed answers. He was the perfect student, but Dumbledore simply ignored his raised hand and always found something wrong with his answer, even when there was none. So he stopped answering, allowing the others, usually Dumbledore' s beloved lions to puke out a pathetic mockery of an answer, that half the time wasn't even pertaining to the subject at hand. And Dumbledore gave them points just for answering. Of course he would give points to them for just breathing, to no surprise.

He sat at his desk, bored yet again and conjuring fire that danced around his hands until he saw him. It was the boy that had appeared at Hogwarts yesterday. The description of the boy his lower followers had given him was actually accurate, his raven black hair falling in near waves, the length of his neck, and brushed a piece of it out of his face as he walked in. His eyes were a vivid acid green, and he had thought that they had been exaggerating, but they weren't, instead so bright that they almost were glowing. He had a pair of round glasses that set on his sunkissed olive skin, partially hiding behind his hair. He was a few inches shorter than Tom, and looked tense and wary. There was an emotion swirling around in his eyes, which Tom couldn't identify, but other than that he had an emotionless mask on. He now had Slytherin robes on that complimented his shining eyes, bringing them out by contrasting the deep forest green of the snakes. He sat to the middle row, behind the front seat. Tom couldn't stop staring, and then realised his conjured fire was starting to burn his quill. He quickly put it out and composed himself, just as Dumbledore came in.

His awfully clashing robes followed him as he came to the front of the class, and the room quieted down as he began talking about the basis of Transfiguration. He was talking about turning objects into creatures, listing the requirements and correct casting. The boy was obviously not paying attention to what Dumbledore was saying, his eyes glazed over as he stared off into the distance. Tom thought it might be a perfect opportunity to take a quick glance into his head, just as Dumbledore addressed him.

"Mr.Peverell, could you please demonstrate transfiguration of your quill to a bird?"  
So his last name was Peverell then. This was becoming interesting. Peverell snapped back to attention, taking a second to glare at Dumbledore, disdain in his eyes as he pointed his wand at his quill. The quill didn't move for a second, then transformed into a golden snitch. Tom shouldn't have gotten his expectations up, just because he had a notorious name didn't mean he was powerful and excelled in magic. Oh well, maybe he still could get new connections from the boy. A Peverell was bound to have some interesting contacts.

But then the snitch moved. It was breathing. That wasn't a golden snitch, but a Golden Snidget.  
It took skill to transfigure objects into non magical creatures, but magical creatures were on another level. Someone had to be very proficient and know how magic worked to be able to channel it into an object and transform it into a magical creature. Not even some Aurors could do that level of magic. He had underestimated Peverell, he was going to be an important asset, and a powerful one. Maybe even in his inner circle.

The Golden Snidget flew up off his desk, zooming around the classroom a few times, a golden blur as the class watched in awe. He even found himself admiring the beauty of the bird, even though he had never cared for creatures, magical or not besides snakes.

Then the bird did something he would have never expected. It landed on his desk. He held his breath as he watched it settle and pull it's head under its wing, going to sleep. Then it disappeared, a quill appearing back in its place. But the quill was golden. It was a Golden Snidget feather, pure gold and extremely valuable. Peverell had transfigured a magical creature from a quill and it was so effective it had permanent effects. Now he needed to know what he couldn't do.

Even Dumbledore was silenced by the Transfiguration, but of course he would never give points to a Slytherin and managed to find a reason to deduct points instead.  
"Well Mr.Peverell, maybe next time you shouldn't be a show off and cause a disturbance in class.Just do what I ask. 5 points from Slytherin."

Tom almost sneered at the words. The audacity of the old goat. He knew how advanced that was but just brushed it off as showing off. He would like to see one of his precious lions do a transfiguration half as advanced as that. Peverell just seemed to accept this, though there was the silent disdain swirling in his eyes again. 

Dumbledore didn't call on Peverell again for the rest of class, continuing with his lecture on the levels of Transfiguration as if nothing had happened. As soon as class ended he watched Peverell almost run out the door, for a reason that was unknown to him. He wondered if he had any other classes with him. Maybe he would get to see how well he was at other subjects. 

He felt silent gratification as he walked through the door of Potions and saw Peverell again, sitting down and almost eager to see him perform. Sadly it seemed that they were not going to be making any potions that day, with only a lesson about magical ingredients and where they came from. The entire time Peverell was writing notes, and he found himself wondering if he actually even needed them. Slughorn told the class they would be making potions tomorrow as the class ended, Tom looking forward to that.

Peverell was one of the first to leave again, going in the same direction as DADA. That happened to be another class they shared then. He entered the classroom and found himself almost grimacing in irritation. There was a boggart cabinet in the center of the room. He would have to face his grave again, and he despised the reminder of death, that no matter what he did it would all end, and he might be no one. But he would never let that happen. He would cheat death if need be, being immortal sounded appealing.

He was also curious about what Peverell's greatest fear was, and he watched as he went to the end of the line. Interesting.

There were so many people with stupid silly things as their greatest fear. The most ridiculous of course being snakes. People hated what they didn't understand, and they never wanted to try and understand either. When it was his turn the grave appeared, small and unremarkable, and he felt his anger rise. He spat the incantation, fueled by it before turning away and going to the side of the classroom. 

People continued to step in front of the cabinet and then repeat the incantation before finally it was Peverell's turn. He seemed hesitant, and Tom found himself zeroing in on the scene unfolding before him. Peverell finally approached the cabinet, and a young woman with unruly red hair and freckles appeared, her face full of disgust as she stared at him. She said two words, simply "I'm done", before turning as if to leave.

Peverell looked as if he had expected this, his eyes full of regret. But then the boggart changed to a couple. Another red head appeared, a man who looked as if he could easily be related to the previous woman, with even more freckles and wide eyes. By his side was a woman with bushy and sandy hair, with a know it all aura.

Peverell barely reacted again, his eyes hardening and gripping his wand slightly tighter. They stared at him and then told him that he had changed and to never talk to them again before they turned away to leave as well.

Then the boggart changed for the final time, and he couldn't believe his eyes. It was him. It was as if he was looking in a mirror, but with subtle changes. He was taller and he looked older. His eyes were completely red, and their pupils were almost slits, like a snake. He had on a Slytherin prefect outfit on, and he was holding his diary, which he had never told anyone about and rarely ever used it anymore. He was holding a wand that looked identical to Peverell's own. But what shocked him the most was his face, which was full of disappointment, an emotion he would never show anyone genuinely. It was as if Peverell had failed him in the biggest way possible, leaving only disappointment left, not even anger. 

Peverell himself seemed very affected by this. His eyes were vivid with that swirling of the unknown emotion, his pupils wide, and he was in a defensive stance, but one like he was getting ready to give up. He was shaking, tightly holding his wand with white knuckles. 

Then the Tom Riddle moved, pointing his wand at Peverell's head, and said "I don't want you."  
It was full of disappointment, and said so empty yet with finality.  
This seemed to break Peverell, as he fell onto his knees, tears in his eyes and he was shaking violently now. He looked up at him and whispered, a hoarse voice that was very much broken, but it seemed to be begging too "Do it." He wasn't certain what this meant until the Tom Riddle mouthed something that was all too similar to 'Avada Kedavra ' for it to be something else, and a confirming green light broke from his wand. He almost expected it to work for a moment, and he couldn't tear his eyes away, feeling as if he could be about to witness a tragedy. But it went through Peverell, and he shed a single tear.

He then squeezed his eyes shut before staggering up and whispering the incantation, but it seemed more that his magic pushed the boggart back into the cabinet, wanting it to end.  
Then he left without another word, as Tom watched him with wide eyes, still trying to confirm what he had just seen. Everyone was whispering as class ended, and he continued to Runes. 

Peverell was there again, but he wasn't actually. His eyes were empty and he seemed numb to the world, mechanically answering questions and taking notes.Charms was no different. When the teacher asked him for a demonstration he charmed the class with a muffling charm, and even as the teacher praised him he simply nodded. 

When he got back to the common room and went to his dorm, Peverell was already in his bed, wards and charms up again, and he sighed as he put his possessions away in his trunk and went to wash himself off.

He lay in bed that night wondering about what he had seen, frowning at the memory. He had so many questions he needed answers to. Why was Peverell's greatest fear him? Why was he like that? Who were those other people? And what else was he hiding?

He would approach Peverell tomorrow and question him, it probably wasn't the best idea to do so right now, as emotionally and mentally unstable he seemed.

He stroked the Golden Snidget feather in his hands, marvelling at the golden shine it had, still retaining it after hours. It wouldn't surprise him if it was permanent, and he would keep it with him all the while.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There's Chapter Three! Next chapter will be advancing the plot with Tom approaching Harry, and working on their relationship. Harry also gets aquanted with the Knights and his roommates, and maybe goes to explore the castle and get attacked. Idk about that part yet
> 
> I don't really know if I'm writing Harry and Tom accurately or if they are a bit ooc. Maybe they are really ooc. I've got no clue nevertheless.
> 
> I really appreciate the comments and kudos! It makes my day and gives me motivation to continue.  
> Tell me what you think of the story and characters so far!


	4. Solivagant

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Solivagant - a solitary wanderer
> 
> Harry gets confronted by Riddle and his followers trying to recruit him  
> That ends as well as you would expect with a seething Tom Riddle and Harry now the outcast by most of Slytherin  
> Harry makes some friends in Ravenclaw and continues with his classes  
> Then he goes to the room of requirement for the night after some idiotic Gryffindors try to attack him

Harry didn't want to wake up, and he groaned, head full of conflicted emotions. He wanted to stay in the warm covers for the rest of the day, especially after yesterday's disaster. He couldn't keep acting like this, hiding everything, it was starting to feel like was back in his time, and he was still the boy who lived. Caelum was hissing at him to get up, slithering over his pillow and onto his hair ~If you don't get up then the other speaker might come and get you up. And it won't be pleasant Zenith, so I suggest you do it now.~

Harry reluctantly got up, as he didn't want to give Tom Riddle another reason to approach him, though he doubted he would leave him alone after yesterday. He knew that Riddle was one of his roommates, it didn't take detective skills to figure that out. The empty perfect bed and Riddle in the common room yesterday were evidence enough, and the wards he had on his chest were strong, probably done in Parseltongue, he would know, he did the same thing. Not that Riddle ever needed to know that he could speak Parseltongue . Not yet. Perhaps he could use it as his advantage.

He had realized he couldn't hide all of his abilities anymore, as he was past that point, people were already noticing his talent and were interested in him. However it also meant a lot more people would approach him, in Riddle's case it would probably mean he would try and recruit him to his Knights, and to use him. He wouldn't allow that, he has sworn never again to let himself be a puppet for someone else to control. He would even pose himself as his rival if that's what it took to stop his advances, and he supposed that could be fun. 

Maybe he should put himself out there as a Parseltounge soon, that could help in his standing and it would be useful as it was a revered talent in Slytherin, and Riddle was the only currently known one. Riddle's reaction in particular would be priceless. He would open the Chamber of Secrets first, and introduce himself to the basilisk, which would also reduce Riddle's influence and claim as the Heir of Slytherin. Alos Myrtle wouldn't die, and Hagrid wouldn't be expelled. He wondered at that point just how much his presence would affect this timeline.

Riddle could stand to be knocked down a few notches anyway, probably thinking he was the best at everything. And as he kept thinking about it, something seemed to click, with a weight he didn't know he had held being lifted from his heart and shoulders, and his mood seemed to instantly lighten up. Motivation was filling up the usual emptiness and pushing it out, and he was beginning to form a plan. He didn't have to carry the guilt and remorse of the war, he had a new life, and freedom to do what he wanted. He wasn't anyone's chosen boy, their perfect Gryffindor, and he could be his own person.

He was a Slytherin anyway, so why not embrace it? After yesterday's fiasco, people would think him weak, and try to take advantage of him, which he needed to remedy. Honestly he had never felt more alive as he got ready, the breakdown had been the effect of years worth of built up emotions, of feeling lonely and out of place, nothing but a puppet to be used. This new realisation of freedom was electrifying, and he let his magic run wild, which he usually never did.  
The strings were gone, and he wouldn't allow anyone to hold him back. Caelum could sense his change in attitude and the new air in the room, and he seemed to enjoy it, as he slithered onto Harry's shoulders.  
~I'm glad you got over that regret, it was poisoning you and your magic.~ He breathed in the darkness he was so used to fighting, ready to start his new life the way he wanted to do it. ~Indeed Caelum, now let's go show them that they can't make me bow down.~ 

But first he cast a charm hiding his magical aura. He could play this game a little longer. He shrunk Caelum and let him slither onto his wrist. To anyone who glanced at his wrist, it would just seem like a bracelet, and the occasional movement could be attributed to it being a magical bracelet. Caelum hissed softly as he got ready, and went into the common room.

As expected Riddle was there waiting for him when he came in.  
The air was tense as his followers surrounded him and Riddle's magic ran freely through the air. Harry held back the urge to let his magic meet and match it. He was sure it was just as powerful, if not more so than Riddle's. But he didn't and instead clenched his teeth, holding his head up in defiance and looking Riddle in the eye. He simply stated "Riddle." in acknowledgement.

He knew for anyone else to look Riddle in the eye would be to ask for a death sentence, but he wasn't anyone. His mental shields were fully capable of holding their own against Riddle's mental attacks, and he was done with mind games. The heavy silence continued to stay for a few seconds, with Riddle probing his metal walls, looking for any weaknesses he could exploit, and he felt his curiosity grow as the seconds went by.

Then one of his followers spoke, breaking the silent stare off "How dare you address our lord like that! He's more powerful than you ever will be!" Several things happened at once, with Riddle retreating from his mind and turning his attention to the voice. The boy visibly flinched as he felt Riddle's attention come onto him, already expecting the pain to come. Riddle simply uttered one word as he glared at him, a feeble apology dying in the boy's mouth. "Crucio." 

The room was then filled with the boy's anguished screams, as he held the curse for a few moments, some followers started shaking and some flinched, while the rest tried not to react. Harry was used to the screams, war had groomed him to be perfect, and that came with the image of illusion that it didn't affect you, some labeling you cruel because of it. Riddle turned back after he canceled the curse, addressing his followers.

"Anyone else wish to speak out of turn? I thought we had already gone over how you were supposed to behave when we have guests."  
There was a silent but universal denial, as none of them wished to bring their Lords wrath upon them. "That's what i thought."

He then turned back to Harry, his face blank, save for the hunger in his eyes. "I would like to offer you a spot in my Knights, we could use someone like you. I know you are powerful, and with me, you could achieve great things Peverell. 

Harry almost scoffed at the offer. Even though he was expecting this, he still found it ridiculous that he had just tortured a boy and then expected him to join his cult. "Riddle, you know that using that curse is a one way trip to Azkaban." Riddle's hunger flashed into irritation, then his face was blank again "Only if you get caught, which I have no intention of doing. There is no way to track a wandless curse anyway."

Perhaps he wanted admiration for such a powerful display of power, doing it wandlessly was impressive, but he wouldn't give him that credit. "I'll have to decline your offer, as the only thing I currently want is freedom, and joining your cult would only take that away."

Riddle was seething at this, and his magic was threatening to strangle him, though he was calm. It was a silent yet intense anger, a stark contrast to Voldermort's wild rage. He had lost his control when he split his soul. His voice was cold and hollow as he stared at Harry "You will regret this if you decline my offer. I don't take kindly to rejection." He flared his magic again for emphasis.

Harry chose this moment to cancel the spell that was holding his magic back. There were a few gasps from Riddle's followers at the sheer intensity. Riddle's eyes widened as his magic snapped up and slammed his magic away, showing itself as a threat. Harry's voice was calm as he spoke again. "I think I'll be fine Riddle. Thank you for the offer though." Riddle's eyes were full of several emotions as he stared at Harry. Awe? Anger? Fear? He couldn't tell, maybe it was all three.

He wasn't going to stick around to see what Riddle's wrath was and so he quickly ran to the door of the common room, intent on going to the Great Hall to eat. He felt a slight pull to turn around and face Riddle, his eyes boring into him, but brushed it off and continued out the door.  
As he closed the door he heard another scream, probably from one of Riddle's followers. As he entered the Great Hall, he glanced up to the roof. There was an entire sky, complete with clouds and shrieking birds. It was beautiful. 

The tables were full of students, and as he continued to the tables there were lots of whispers and glances to him. He tried to ignore them, but then a tall Ravenclaw girl approached him. She had honey colored hair and brown eyes that seemed to be calculating everything around her, and he held herself with confidence as she spoke. "So Peverell, how did you do it?"  
He had a good idea about what 'it' was but wasn't completely sure. "Do what?"

She rolled her eyes as if she couldn't believe he actually had said that. "Turn the quill into a Golden Snidget. I've tried and the best I could manage was a yellow canary. So how did you do it?" 

She reminded Harry a bit of Hermionie, except she was actually willing to accept that some people were better than her. Hermionie would have been upset and accused him of cheating. This girl was willing to learn from others, not just information straight from the book. Harry smiled and relaxed, and explained it the best he could.

"Well, I focused on the quill and I worked my magic into it. I had to concentrate on what I wanted to transfigure the quill into, each particular part of the bird, and I also had to establish a limit, so the magic wouldn't overflow and mess it up. Then I just let my magic do the rest."  
She nodded and seemed to understand. "Ah, so you have to establish a limit for the magic, like a plug so it's just the right amount that goes in.I can't believe I didn't think of that, Thank you. " 

He smiled at her, trying to present himself as friendly and he held out his hand. "You're welcome, I don't believe I've met you yet, were you in Transfiguration with me?" She shook her head, taking his hand and shaking it "I wasn't, though everyone's heard about your Transfiguration, and I think it will be interesting to see what you do next. The name is Leslie Desford, nice to meet you." 

He was pleased this was going so well, he might even have made a friend. "And mine is Hadrian Peverell, though you already seem to know my last name. The pleasure is mine." She chuckled at this "I think everyone in our Transfiguration class knows it, and you also seem to have caught the attention of Riddle. You should be careful, that's never a good thing."

He grinned, as they walked to the Ravenclaw to eat. He didn't want to sit at the Slytherin table after his confrontation with Riddle and his followers, and now he had a perfect excuse.  
"Oh tell me about it, he basically owns Slytherin, with everyone doing everything he wants."

"Well it's a good thing you appeared, you don't seem to be kissing Riddle's shiny leather shoes. He could use some competition anyway, he's always at the top of every class. No one can even touch him, not even the Ravenclaws." She introduced him as her friend Hadrian Peverell, who could best Tom Riddle. There were a few gasps and several unbelieving scoffs. A short redhead with light blue-green spoke up 

"No one can beat Tom Riddle. You probably did something before class just to show off." Then a boy with grey-brown hair and dark eyes defended him "Maybe he actually did! How in the world could he cheat in Transfiguration?" She narrowed her eyes then pointed accusingly to Harry. "Then prove it. Transfigure this spoon into a Jobberknoll."  
Harry obliged, focusing his magic into the spoon, and then a small blue bird appeared. It didn't make any sound, and instead flew off towards the roof, disappearing into the sky. The girl only seemed aggravated, and demanded another example "That could have easily been a normal bird, this time what about an Augurey."

She seemed confident this would determine if he was lying or not. Harry sighed and got another spoon, focusing his energy into it again, a baby Augurey would suffice, and it would take a lot less energy. There was a moment of nothing, then a small grey vulture like bird appeared. It gave a small mournful sounding cry, then looked around it's surroundings. 

The girl seemed speechless, and studied the bird as it began cleaning its feathers. She said only one word, almost unbelieving "Wow..." Leslie looked like she had expected this and smirked. "See Robins, he's the real deal." Robins then looked at Harry, seeming to finally accept it. "Maybe you really can beat Riddle." And then as if she realized something about what she said, she added quickly "But if Riddle beats you into the ground and is still at the top, I never said that."

Harry laughed at this, and he felt it was safe to say he had made some friends. The bird soon disappeared and changed back into a spoon, and they continued talking. Occasionally he put his hand under the table and gave some food to Caelum, who was still on his wrist, and he silently hissed in thanks. He found out that Robin's first name was Payton, and the boy who had defended him was Jay Keller. Robins was a pureblood and Keller was a muggleborn. Soon breakfast was almost over, so Leslie suggested they go a few minutes early to Transfiguration.  
Leslie had Astronomy, which was close to the Transfiguration classroom so they would walk together. 

As he got up, he glanced over to the Slytherin table. They were mostly keeping to themselves, but when they noticed him looking their gaze turned cold and cut off, as if they were silently rejecting him, and they probably were. He would deal with that later. Right now though, he would focus on his classes. 

When he got into the classroom, he could feel the eyes on him, no doubt anticipating what he would do this time. The Slytherins were ignoring him, and if they weren't they only threw icy glares. They really needed to change their approach. It was really getting old. The Gryffindors' responses were mixed, with some of them honestly curious, and a select few sneering, as if he had hurt their pride by being better than them.

Riddle was ignoring him too he noticed, not feeling the eyes boring into him like yesterday, or at least he was trying. He could occasionally feel him glace his way, if only to glare or look at him conflictingly, with anger sometimes rising through.

Dumbledore came in, with horribly fashionable robes as always, and Harry supposed some things never changed. This time Harry made sure to focus on Dumbledore as he was talking, not wanting a repeat of yesterday, and whenever he would call him, he gave the answer he knew Dumbledore would want, straight and to the point, with no room to show off, just enough. Dumbledore's eye seemed to twitch every time he did this, and he called on several Gryffindors too so he could give them points. Eventually he seemed to give up, giving Slytherin several points and never calling on him again.

He noticed he never called on Riddle though, and he never raised his hand. There was a sort of mutual dislike here, and that was putting it lightly. He knew they didn't like each other, but he didn't quite know the extent. Riddle had apparently wanted to be a teacher at one time, and Dumbledore declined him the position. Riddle had cursed the DADA spot, and that's where it had begun.

Eventually it was time to go to Potions next, and apparently they were brewing the Draught of Peace today. He silently thanked Snape, something he thought he would never do, for singling him out that day and pointing out everything he had done wrong.

Professor Slughorn was talking now, saying "Many of you should be familiar with this potion, as teachers have given several students these during testing times. Now let's see if you can brew it yourself."

Harry sighed as he looked at the recipe to make sure he knew how to make it correctly. A skimming of the paper told him he did. So he began to add the powdered moonstone, watching the liquid turn green. Then he began to stir it, the green changing into a sky blue. Adding some more moonstone until it turned purple, he set his ladle down, waiting for it to simmer. He looked around the room for a moment, where there were potions of various shades of the rainbow. Slughorn was at the desk of a Hufflepuff who's potion was a dreary grey and looked like the consistency of wet concrete. Riddle's in particular was currently purple, not that he cared. 

He turned back to his potion, which was now simmering and a bubblegum pink. Adding the syrup of hellebore quickly, it turned turquoise. He was relieved he hadn't missed the window,and decided to focus fully on the potion so it would turn out well. He had to let it simmer again, this time watching it until then, and aggressively shook the powdered porcupine quills.  
Careful not to spill them, he added them until the potion was blood red, then stirred.  
It was the exact color of an orange, and he added more quills until it was turquoise again.  
Letting it simmer for the third time, this time turning purple, he got the powdered unicorn horn ready from the ingredients.  
After he added that, it was pink, and he stirred, the blood red appearing again. Simmering until it was purple, he added more moonstone until it was grey, then simmering again turning back to orange.

He was almost done, and he added more powdered porcupine quills until it was a bright white.  
All this stirring was beginning to make his hands sure, but he continued anyway, watching it simmer and then lowering the heat, waiting seven minutes. 

Now he couldn't mess this up, or it would be disastrous. He got a dropper and put in exactly seven drops of hellebore. The final potion emitted a silver vapor just like it was supposed to, so he got up and put his remaining ingredients back in the cabinet, then sat down. His arms were sore, and Caelum had slithered up his forearm, avoiding the potions. 

He then waited for Slughorn to come and grade his, looking around the room again. Most people were still brewing their potions, the Hufflepuff with the cement potion had started over, and Riddle was sitting at his table reading the instruction book, potion done and emitting a silvery vapor as well. 

Slughorn eventually came over to his table, grinning from ear to ear as he examined his potion.  
"Ah, Mr.Peverell, you've made a perfect potion! Mr.Riddle, you might have some competition!"  
And although Harry knew Slughorn meant that in a playful and joking matter, he knew Riddle didn't see it that way. He saw him as a threat, and if looks could kill, the daggers he was silently glaring at him would have already slit his throat.

Slughorn concluded class with giving both him and Riddle top marks, they were the only ones to make a perfect potion, with a few Slytherins and Ravenclaws coming close.

As he continued to DADA he silently hoped no one would bring up his boggart, he really didn't want to deal with that right now, not with the majority of his house alienating him and having to deal with Riddle. 

Professor Hawthorn was at the front of the room, the usual chairs and desk back where they normally were. Today they were talking about werewolves. Of course, Harry knew a lot about that, with spending time with Remix and Sirius. There were also multiple books about lycanthropy in the Black library on the subject, often with Sirius's notes in them, trying to help his friend Moony.

The first question she asked was about how werewolves came to be, and Harry raised his hand "It's spread by infection ma'am, though saliva or blood, like a bite." She smiled at his answer "Correct Mr.Peverell, 5 points to Slytherin. Werewolves can infect others through blood and saliva, most of the time through biting the victim. Can anyone tell me what happens to a werewolf on a full moon?"  
She scanned the classroom and called upon a raised hand. A smooth, clear voice rang through the room, "Every full moon they transform into a werewolf, becoming a bloodthirsty creature they cannot control. And any bite or scratch from a werewolf human or animal is permanent. " Of course, he knew that voice without having to turn around. Tom Riddle. He almost scoffed. Professor Hawthorn then nodded, giving another 5 points to Slytherin.

She continued to lecture about werewolves and how their affliction worked, occasionally asking students about it and awarding points to correct answers. Then her voice softened as she spoke next "And unfortunately once someone becomes a werewolf, there is no known cure, and they stay that way forever."

Then it was already the next class, and he went to the Charms classroom, which was taught by Professor Cresswell. He was a balding man with a grey mustache and warm eyes. 

Professor Cresswell was teaching about charms and their uses, and how they could be used for malicious or good intent. It wasn't the spell that was dark, but the intent behind it. For example a slicing charm used to cut a ribbon on a bow for a present could also be used to slice someone's throat. It completely depended.

Harry found himself wishing that the future Hogwarts was like this, more accepting of all magic and teaching more subjects like this, how they were. It still wasn't perfect, as Hogwarts was always a light oriented school, but it became so light by the time he went there it almost seemed like light brainwashing compared to this. And he supposed he might not be far off.

Runes was next, and Mrs. Hopkins was very passionate about her subject. Her messy bun full of auburn hair was often turned to her students as she explained what the numerous papers full of ancient letters on their desks were. She seemed to have all of her curriculum mesmerized, as well as the majority of the runic alphabet. It was an interesting class to say the least, and he took detailed notes as she explained the possible meaning and magical significance. If done correctly, runes could be very powerful wards and protections, and seeing as most people didn't know runes, it would make it that much stronger. 

He sighed as he left the Runes classroom, walking down the stairs but not intent on going to the Slytherin dorms. He really didn't want to deal with an angry Riddle when he was about to go to sleep. So he was going to go to the seventh floor. As he was walking two Gryffiondoor boys seemed to follow him up to the third and fourth floor, and eventually he turned around and pulled out his wand. "I'm sorry, do you need something?" The Gryffindor boys seemed to only grin cruelly, their wands already out. He had been tortured enough by Dudley to know where this was going, and he cursed himself for not addressing them sooner, when there were people around. 

The taller boy, a redhead with a freckled face and cruel dark brown eyes spoke first "No slimy snake, only you writhing on the ground in pain. " the shorter boy, a plump boy with greasy brown hair nodded, adding onto what the other said "Yeah, you need to be taught a lesson you cocky show off. " Harry could feel his anger rising and tried to keep his cool.

He knew there was no talking his way out of this one, these kinds of people only spoke violence, and didn't stop until they thought you understood, beaten into submission. Then the taller boy shouted out "Expelliarmus!" And his want flew out of his hand and several feet away. The other boy summoned some ropes and approached him. 

He was fuming, and let his magic lash out, powerful enough to give them a nosebleed, they paused for a second, hesitation and fear plastered onto their faces, and Harry took that opportunity. He dove toward his wand, and before they knew what was happening stupefied and then obliviated them. Then he placed a fake memory charm into both of their minds that would make this moment nonexistent. All they would remember would be exploring the castle and then they touched a cursed portrait, knocking them out. He vanished their nosebleeds and dusted off his robes, continuing up to the seventh floor.

When he got there, he went to the portrait of the ballet trolls. He specified what he wanted in his mind and then walked past it three times, then an opening appeared. Inside was an exact replica of the living room of Black Manor, exactly as he remembered it.

As soon as he went in and the wall closed, he unshrunk Caelum, who was no doubt tired of staying that way, and summoned some food he had saved for the snake. Caelum hissed in gratitude and he went and sat down into the black velvet chair in front of the fire. He chuckled at how similar the setup was to the Slytherin common room, but instead of a lake it was between unsuspecting apartments. He sighed as he sunk into the chair in pleasure, and then Caelum slithered up the foot, coiling himself in Harry's lap, absorbing the heat of the fire. He set an alarm for 3 am tomorrow, enough time to get back into the Slytherin common room and avoid any suspicion. Not that anyone but Riddle would acknowledge him, and that was going to be yet another dumpster fire. 

Tomorrow, he decided he would open the Chamber of Secrets, and start to deal with this mess. It wasn't going to be pretty, but somehow he was going to stop Riddle from becoming a Dark Lord, whether he liked it or not. He stroked Caelum's scales as he fell into thought.

"Oh Caelum, how am I going to do this..." he whispered, but Caelum was already asleep, hissing softly. 

Well, he had friends now, a support system, and literal immortal beings on his side. Perhaps tomorrow he would also contact Theodore, and discuss all this with him. But until then he felt himself nodding off to sleep, and he didn't fight the darkness as it engulfed him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright there's that mess of a chapter 4  
> I know it's really short and chaotic
> 
> I am sorry for that and I'll try to continue to make the chapters longer and easier to understand 
> 
> I just have this thing where I'll constantly worry about my writing not being good enough to post 
> 
> But here this thing is
> 
> Is it even readable?
> 
> Anyway I'll see you either tommorow or the next day with another chapter, of course the day in Tom's POV
> 
> Hope you are are doing ok


	5. Perditus(Chapter 4 Tom POV)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Perditus - (Latin) Lost or loss
> 
> So just basically Tom's POV of chapter 4.  
> Tom gets pissed at Harry's refusal to join the knights and makes him an outcast in Slytherin, causing him to make a few friends in Ravenclaw.
> 
> So this chapter is super short, barely two thousand and a half words
> 
> Yikes.
> 
> Well I have a lot planned for next chapter so that should make up for it

Tom Riddle was looking forward to the day for the first time in a very long time.  
The last time he could remember having his normally confined emotions leak out of their confinements and affect him was when he had discovered that torture spell to punish him bullies with in second year. He had to admit it had been satisfying watching their ugly faces contort in pain with their eyes bulging out of their sockets with tears streaming down their faces. They had flailed on the ground like fish out of water, screaming until their vocal cords wouldn't allow them anymore. They hadn't dared bully him again.

But even that wasn't as intense as this feeling. He felt like he had found a treasure in the rough, one he needed to claim as his immediately. And what better way to do that than to do that than to get Peverell to join his knights? He knew the mysterious boy was strong, and after a duel he might be even more powerful than some in his inner circle. He was sure that the boy would certainly be one of them, if only to keep him close.

He reapplied his wards around his bed and chest in Parseltongue, as one could never be too careful. Paranoia might seem ugly to some, but it was often useful. All the most powerful people had it to some extreme. And after all, there was no good and evil, only power and those too weak to see it. 

Leaving his dorm, he decided on how he was going to go through with making Peverell one of his knights. He had always had a flair for dramatics, and decided to gather his followers. They would see yet again how persuasive he could be, and perhaps even add a sense of peer pressure to Peverell. He knew how effective it could be. Besides, Peverell had to have something he treasured, that he craved to have. And The Dark Lord could give him that, or at least an illusion of it, though somehow he doubted him being foolish like some.

When at last Peverell came into the common room, it was into a circle around him, and at the center was him. So symbolic, like a rabbit about to be trapped in the jaws of a Basilisk. 

As Peverell looked around at the curious eyes of his followers, some hiding it better than others, he seemed… unimpressed. Like he was about to scoff, and Tom couldn't believe the audacity. He should just curse him into submission for such things. But he wasn't his follower yet, and it would be a shame to break him so soon. So many secrets that he still hid.

He gave Tom a polite acknowledgment, voice even and calm, a simple "Riddle."

Peverell then did something he would have considered to be pure stupidity. It was so brash and disgustingly Gryffindor he almost gagged. He looked him in the eyes, the Avada Kedavra vivid green full of defiance. He thought Peverell would know better as one of the noble houses and a Slytherin, but given the chance, of course he took it. 

But all he found was a wall. It was all empty, and anything that was there was behind an invisible wall. He knew some purebloods taught their heirs to protect their minds, but this was just.. brilliant. Even Avery's and Malfroy's defenses couldn't compare to this. There was always some flaw, some crack he could exploit and use, eventually getting into their minds. There was nothing here, it was fully protected. Just who had taught Peverell? 

Then one of his ignorant followers just had to open their useless mouths. A small scraggly boy with dirty blonde hair and a sneering face tried to speak for him.

"How dare you address our lord like that! He's more powerful than you ever will be!"

He quickly snapped his attention to said boy, magic reeling to threaten him and out of Peverell's mind. The boy immediately flinched, instantly regretting the words, as he should. He knew that Peverell was far more powerful than this pathetic boy could ever be. All he did was hide in the shadows of power that he thought would protect him and lashed out because he thought there could be no consequences.

Well he could have to remind him and his followers that he was the one who held the power, and he could just as easily use it on them as he could their enemies if they disobeyed or forgot their place. Many knew it was coming before the words came out of his mouth. He glared at the boy, sneering as he uttered one word "Crucio." 

The boy fell to the ground screaming in agony, clawing at his robes and grasping air as if seeking help. Those closest to him backed away, not wanting to invoke their Lord's wrath as well.

Peverell did not seem affected at all by the display, save for a hint of disgust in his eyes, ever so expressive, even when his face betrayed nothing.

He then turned to his followers as he cancelled the curse, the boy still shivering but quickly trying to compose himself as he hung his head in shame and stood up. His eyes narrowed and his voice was stern as he addressed them  
"Anyone else wish to speak out of turn? I thought we had already gone over how you were supposed to behave when we have guests."  
They seemed to understand,as a silence held the air. There should be no more outbursts from anyone overstepping their place.  
"That's what I thought."

Turning back to Peverell, he then addressed him  
"I would like to offer you a spot in my Knights, we could use someone like you. I know you are powerful, and with me, you could achieve great things Peverell."  
Everyone had something, no doubt Peverell was powerful and mysterious, but he was still the same as everyone else in that sense.

Ignoring his offer, Peverell then glanced over to the boy, who was still suffering from the aftershock of the curse. Then he spoke, his voice cold  
"Riddle, you know that using that curse is a one way trip to Azkaban."  
How dare he. He had just offered him a spot in the knights, and not only did he ignore him, but he brought up the curse of all things.

Focusing on keeping his voice calm and not letting his irritation show, he countered with  
"Only if you get caught, which I have no intention of doing. There is no way to track a wandless curse anyway."

It was an obvious hint at how powerful he was, as they were quickly getting off track, and he found himself wanting to get back to the topic. And of course he was correct, even if someone snitched on him, he had contacts and blackmail he could use to come out unscathed. The same would not be said about his opponents. 

Peverell was quickly getting on his bad side, and even though it was reinvigorating to have someone who didn't just bow down to him and do anything for him, it was short lived.

"I'll have to decline your offer, as the only thing I currently want is freedom, and joining your cult would only take that away."  
He couldn't believe Peverell. He had offered him anything he wanted, and in return he had insulted him and declined him. His magic was begging to lash out, to tear this deviant apart and make an example of him, the one who dared reject him. If he had any less control he might have let it. He could feel the fear radiating off his followers, they knew where defiance would end them.

But he was Tom Marvalo Riddle, and he didn't give mercy. If Peverell wanted to be that way, he would break him, and have him begging at his feet for his Lord to forgive him. He had seen Peverell's greatest fears, the main one being himself. He would surely become his greatest fear, and haught his dreams, to where he would fear him to his utter core, the kind that snakes around your very soul and grips, like thorns. He would make him bleed, in every way possible.

Not everything was physical, and the worst kinds of torture were often of the mind and emotion.

His voice was sharp as daggers, clearly threatening Peverell, and he was giving him a last chance  
"You will regret this if you decline my offer. I don't take kindly to rejection."  
His magic was practically almost strangling Peverell, the tendrils begging it's owner to let go so it could make him pay. 

Peverell closed his eyes, as if he were mulling it over. But then his eyes opened with an even brighter green, this time he was sure they were glowing. Peverell's magic flared up to meet his, shoving it away and snapping protectively around its owner. It was such a sheer amount of energy that many of his followers gasped at the intensity. He couldn't even stop himself from his eyes widening in surprise. It was so strong, maybe as strong as his… No.. He refused to believe that, but it was close. It wasn't as dark as his either. It wasn't light by any means though, but a grey, leaning slightly into dark, as if he had only put his feet in the sea of dark magic.

"I think I'll be fine Riddle. Thank you for the offer though."

He was stepped back to attention by Peverells words, who then quickly went to the door.  
In a desperate attempt and a 'No!' screamed in his mind, he cast a wandless and speechless Imperious. Peverell seemed to hesitate for a moment before continuing and shutting the door.

The room was silent with shock, many with an unspoken excitement of what was to come.

He addressed his followers directly, the cold and emotionless Dark Lord back again  
"Peverell is now an outcast in Slytherin. Anyone caught associating with him outside my orders will be punished."

Then he Crucioed the boy from earlier just to feel a little better.

In the Great Hall, everyone in Slytherin was ignoring Peverell, who had apparently gone to the Ravenclaw table and was chatting carefreely with Leslie Desford as if nothing had happened.  
There was a moment that a small blue bird had flown up into the sky above the hall, into the starry abyss, and of course it had come from Peverell.

He was already associating with people who had been trying to take him down. Leslie Desford was a pureblood that often had the best marks in his beginning years, and the sneering, cocky attitude to go with it. He watched with satisfaction as he gradually surpassed her and all her friends with top marks, easily making himself the best in all his classes. He was untouchable.

It was a shame to let such power be tainted with an unworthy company like Leslie and her group, but it would all be temporary, he would make sure of that. He was going to get him on his side no matter what it took, and whether Peverell wanted it or not.

Transfiguration was at least interesting. Peverell had decided to pay attention, and when Dumbledore had called on him, he gave a perfect answer. Well at least as close to perfect as anyone else could get. He could obviously explain it better.

In potions they were brewing the Draught of Peace, which Tom was very familiar with. In his younger years he would often brew it after cramming for hours. He could probably brew it with his eyes closed. He spared a look over at Peverell, who was a few desks in front of him. His potion was also purple, as they were both in the middle of brewing it. Peverell was glancing around the classroom, almost missing his window to pour the syrup of hellebore in. He didn't look away from his potion again, and at the end he had a potion with a thin silvery smoke rising from it. 

Tom had already finished his potion and was pretending to read the instruction manual, since Slughorn had already come over to see his potion, and as always it had been perfect.  
He looked over the manual as Slughorn was looking at Peverell's potion. His eyes lit up and he grinned at the green eyed boy.  
"Ah, Mr.Peverell, you've made a perfect potion! Mr.Riddle, you might have some competition!"

His gaze turned cold as he glared at the boy, he was sure he felt it in the back of his head.

After potions in DADA, Professor Hawthorn was teaching about werewolves. They were one of the many magical creatures Tom had made sure to fully research in case he ever encountered one, and he even had a silver dagger in his chest in front of his bed.

She asked the class about how werewolves came to be, and Peverell, who seemed to be well educated in the subject, answered.  
"It's spread by infection ma'am, though saliva or blood, like a bite."

She smiled and nodded her head in approval at the answer  
Correct Mr.Peverell, 5 points to Slytherin. Werewolves can infect others through blood and saliva, most of the time through biting the victim. Can anyone tell me what happens to a werewolf on a full moon?"

Polite and direct, a mockery of his usual answers. He couldn't very well let Peverell gain all of Slytherin's points, so he raised his hand to answer 

"Mr.Riddle"

He sat up straight and confident as he spoke, charming and top student.  
"Every full moon they transform into a werewolf, becoming a bloodthirsty creature they cannot control. And any bite or scratch from a werewolf human or animal is permanent."

Adding that extra piece of information always seemed to please teachers since it was adding onto what they were asking for and were not expected to know. The obvious exception to this was Dumbledore, who hated Slytherins, and in particular himself.

"Indeed, that's correct Mr,Riddle, 5 more points to Slytherin."

Peverell didn't even react to her statement, and if he didn't know better he would say Peverell was ignoring him. Which wouldn't do.

Charms and Runes went by without anything happening, and he already knew most of the curriculum from his reading, more so with all the books from the restricted section.

If only he could find the Chamber of Secrets…

As he expected, Peverell dashed out the door after Runes, but what was odd was his bed was unoccupied when he was going to bed. 

Peverell hadn't been to Hogwarts before from what little he had gathered, so where could he be?  
He knew Peverell was hiding secrets, and lots of them, all of which he intended to find out, by any means necessary.

When he opened his chest to put his books and clothes in, he found himself looking at the Golden Snidget feather that he had tucked away in it as well, carefully in a pocket so the other things wouldn't mess it up.  
It still held that golden shimmer and slight heavy feel of pure gold.

He would unravel Peverell eventually...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading!
> 
> Next chapter Harry will be opening the Chamber of Secrets and meeting the Baskilisk with Caelum, and probably Tom finding the Room of Requirement already had someone in it, who he suspects is Peverell
> 
> Information also will come out about the Peverells, and Tom steps into a bit more obsessive territory about Peverell  
> He doesn't even know his first name, and how is he going to bring him over to his side by making him an enemy?  
> So he tries to change his approach  
> Harry's new friends are also a bit wary of Riddle...
> 
> But anyway, see you next chapter!  
> I love all the comments and everything you guys say is so supportive  
> I really appreciate you with all my heart!


	6. Ascain

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ascain - one that has no shadow
> 
> Harry opens the Chamber of Secrets and meets the basilisk inside.
> 
> Then Riddle invites him to eat with him at Breakfast and this causes an argument with Leslie.
> 
> He also gets a letter from Theodore regarding his magical guardians and residence.
> 
> He probabky has to reconsider who he considers friends, though Tom Riddle always seems to be an outlier in everything regarding him.
> 
> Hope you enjoy this chapter!

It was still warm in the Room of Requirement when Harry woke up, and he groaned at the alarm that he had set the night before, screeching at him to get up. The fireplace was still going, probably to do with the magic of the Room. Caelum hissed in irritation at the noise and movement. He eventually slithered up on Harry's shoulders though as Harry put on his glasses and went out the door and into the hall.

The air was chill and very contrasting to the previous warmth of the room, and he shivered. Caelum was threatening to slither under Harry's robes if he didn't cast a heating charm soon. Not wanting to have a snake under his robes right now, he sighed and cast a heating charm quickly before Caelum did anything, as well as disillusionment and muting charms. 

Since it was 3 am and of course past curfew, if he was caught he would have immediate detention. Although he doubted there were Prefects patrolling currently, and he found himself a little relieved that Riddle wasn't a prefect yet. Who knew when he had patrolled, and he probably would have used it as an excuse to catch and punish students and continue with his schemes unsuspected. Besides that he would already have immense power and probably have found the Chamber of Secrets. It would've been an even bigger mess than what he was currently dealing with.

The large hallways of Hogwarts were empty and dreary in the bare light of 3 am, and besides the occasional portraits here and there the walls were mostly bare on the upper floors. Most of the decoration and awards were on the first and second floor, with the third holding the spare things that couldn't fit. He figured it was a decent place to hide a secret chamber, not too obvious and not too secluded, though it was a secret chamber in Hogwarts he was talking about. So it was needlessly dramatic, as he noticed Sytherins had a taste for.

It was also a bit weird to have the entrance in the girls bathroom, of course no one would expect it, but was it really necessary? Perhaps there was another entrance before or multiple entrances he wasn't aware of, that would be useful not having to go to the second floor girl's bathroom everytime he wanted to enter.

When he got to the bathrooms, they were almost exactly the same as when he had come, though admittedly not in as bad shape as it had been when it was Myrtle's bathroom. The mirrors weren't cracked and there wasn't water everywhere on the floor. Though it looked mostly unused, especially in the dim light.

Myrtle was still alive, and should stay that way if he tamed the Basilisk and secured the chamber, but the whole reason she had retreated to the bathrooms was to escape bullying. Her death was an accident, but Riddle had used it anyway to create his first horcrux, the diary. Though it wouldn't happen this time, he supposed it wouldn't hurt if he tried to befriend her or at least stop her from being bullied. His new friends were in Ravenclaw anyway, like Myrtle, so it shouldn't be that hard.

As he got to the broken facet, he paused in front of it, hissing "~open~" in Parseltongue. Then he waited as the sink slid down into the ground, revealing a familiar pipe. It was still as dark and slimy as last time, and when he got to the bottom he made sure to cast a cleaning charm onto his robes before continuing.

Walking through the tunnel, he noticed the deeper parts of the Chamber were in better shape, so it probably hadn't flooded yet. A lot could and would happen in 50 years. There was a shed basilisk skin in the tunnel, though it wasn't as big as the one he had encountered when he was 12. 

After walking for several minutes, he got to the main chamber, which was hard to miss as the transition between tunnel and chamber was stark. The ceiling was higher and there were arching snakes across the sides of the wall and up the room, acting as supports. There were also stairs on either side, which had been flooded when he had been here the first time. Since he wasn't fighting for his and Ginny's lives this time he could look around and marvel at the Chamber. 

There was a large coiled basilisk in front of the sculpted head of Salazar Slytherin, seemingly sleeping. Caelum looked at them with awe and respect in his eyes, as if he was gazing upon royalty.  
He voiced his curiosity to Caelum  
~Are basilisks like royalty among snakes?~ 

Caelum hovered his head for a few seconds, thinking about his answer before hissing  
~I suppose you could put it like that, but it isn't exactly like humans and your royalty.~  
He nodded, supposing he would have to learn more about that later.

As he began to walk closer Caelum reminded him about the basilisk  
~Remember, the gaze of a basilisk is deadly, so they will have to accept you as the Heir before you can look at them~

He could feel his heartbeat thumping as he could see the basilisk in detail now, the last time he had been this close was when he and the basilisk were fighting, and he had killed it. And in turn it had almost killed him, if it weren't for Fawkes.

They had deep green scales that were the exact shade of the Slytherin green, and that most likely wasn't a coincidence. They were about twice the size of Nagini, though not as big as they had been in 50 years. The spines along their back were relaxed, and their breathing was long and deep. It was like they were hibernating. He supposed that was probably how it had managed to survive for so long, waiting for the next Parselmouth to come and awake them.

He gathered his bravery and lowered his head, not wanting to look them in the eye but also not wanting to anger the basilisk, as he knew how that could end.  
"~Greetings, great basilisk.~"

As soon as the Parseltounge left his lips, he heard a great rustling as the basilisk awoke and turned it's attention on him. Caelum was wound tightly around his shoulders, as though to protect him, and Harry knew he would.

"~Speaker, are you the Heir to my master?~"  
The voice was kinder than he expected, though he still found himself tense in the presence of such a dangerous creature. He figured there would be no use in lying, so he breathed in and then spoke again

"~I do not know if I am the Heir to your master, for there is another speaker in this castle as well.~"  
They seemed interested at this statement, if not a bit puzzled from their next words

"~Two speakers? That has never happened before. But if you are here before them you must be more worthy.~"  
They seemed to settle on that conclusion as they waited for him to continue, and he was slightly worried about how the basilisk would react to his story about the future. Especially the part about him killing them.

"~Well, he once was the Heir before, and he opened the Chamber as well. You see, I'm from the future, and he uses you to kill a student, and then I had to save my friend that he was also going to kill. He ordered you to attack me and I had to… kill you.~"

The basilisk seemed to stop for a second, and Harry felt his fear rear up, because he didn't know if that was because they were getting ready to strike, or for another reason.

Then Caelum decided to speak to the basilisk, who had decidedly not attacked him yet, so he figured he was safe for now.  
"~Apologies, I must interrupt your conversation My Lady, Zenith. Zenith is speaking the truth, though he does not wish to harm you this time. In fact I know he will treat you better than the other Heir ever might, for he truly cares.~"

The basilisk let out what seemed to be a hissed sigh, and there was another sound of slithering, this time slower  
"~I see… Well since it is true you have already defeated me, you seem to be proven to be a worthy Heir. You can open your eyes, for I have decided not to harm you.~"

Harry couldn't believe that was so easy, well as easy as talking to a Basilisk could be. But he was still a little uncertain as he opened his eyes, not lifting his head yet and staring at the stone below him  
"~But how can you be so sure…~"

The basilisk lowered their head to him, and he could feel the hair on the nape of his neck stand up at the movement  
"~I can smell the basilisk venom in your blood dear Heir, it has been neutralized with phoenix tears, and snakes cannot lie to basilisks. We are their leaders and they are like our followers, much like you humans have yours.~"

Harry finally looked up at the basilisk, who was relaxed and coiled in front of him. Their yellow eyes matched Caelum's, though they were definitely more serpentine while Caelum had some avian features in his.

"~Thank you…~"  
He paused as he didn't know what to call the great basilisk in front if him

They seemed to get this and responded  
"~No worries dear Heir, my name is Aislinn, as my master has named me. I am also a she.~"

Harry could breathe normally now, and he relaxed as well, finally  
"~Thank you Aislinn, I will strive to be a worthy heir, and of course I will not only use you as a tool. I'm sure you are hungry after hibernating for so long.Also my name is Hadrian, though you may also call me Harry.~"

She hissed in agreement, and one yellow eye watched him as he continued  
"~If you want you can probably go to the Forbidden Forest and hunt there, but please try not to get caught. I don't know what I can do if they catch a basilisk, and I don't want to lose you.~"

Aislinn seemed almost shocked at this statement, and flicked her forked tongue out for a second, before replying  
"~Of course Hadrian, we basilisks are also magic, I won't get caught, and you don't have to worry about me. Also there is another entrance in the dungeons, two doors to the right at the snakehead lantern with green eyes. Just hiss at it like you did with the other one.~"

Harry could only grin at this, and with that Aislinn left to go hunt.  
He cast a Tempus, and it was close to 5 now, probably enough time to get back to the Slytherin dorms, of course he wouldn't be getting any sleep now. Thankfully he had a few Pepper Up potions in his trunk to make up for the lack of sleep.

There was still nobody outside the dorms yet, as most everyone's day started at 6. After getting to the common room, he carefully looked around for anyone who might be up, in particular Riddle, but it was empty. He took a moment to breathe, watching the lake shimmer though the magical glass before going to his dorm.

When he got back to his dorm, Riddle's bed as well as the other two beds had their curtains down. Riddle's had several powerful wards that would no doubt be very painful should anyone trigger them.  
No doubt Riddle had noticed his absence last night, and would not let that go easily. Getting a book about magical creatures that Keller had recommended to him from his trunk, he sat down on his bed. 

He left his curtains open, that way Riddle couldn't catch him by surprise whenever he woke up, and didn't try to hide Caelum either, who was still nestled into his shoulders. He would have to have an excuse for his disappearance last night, and since he didn't want to reveal he had opened the Chamber yet, he decided that it would be he had to let Caelum out. Riddle would probably find out eventually about Caelum, and it wouldn't hurt to let him have that information now.

However, he decided to still not reveal that he was a Parselmouth yet. He told Caelum this too, as he figured Riddle would speak to him.

"~Once Riddle finds out about you he will probably try to talk to you and see if I'm a Parseltoungue as well.~"  
He had gotten enough control of it to know when he was speaking English and Parseltongue, and could respond in English without switching to Parseltongue.

Caelum understood this, seconding his plan as he flipped to another page of the book, which was ironically about basilisks.

"~Of course Zenith, I won't tell him anything, our secrets are our own, and until you tell him it shall continue that way.~"  
He flicked his tongue affectionately on Harry's cheek, tickling it

"~Hey that tickles~"  
Caelum let out another hiss-laugh as he lowered his head into the nook of Harry's neck again.

They continued to sit there as the minutes went by, and eventually the light began to show itself, bringing the beginning of the day.

As this happened he heard a rustle from Riddle's bed, and soon enough the was a muttered spell and the curtains flew open to show a sleepy Tom Riddle emerging from the bed. 

He went tense upon seeing Harry, and his hair was slightly rustled, in a way that softened his usually sharp features. His dark blue galaxy eyes widened in shock when he saw Harry, and probably Caelum too. Of course he had to show his status with Slytherin green silk pajamas, loose around his tall, lanky frame that were showing the top of his collarbone.

His eyes narrowed, seemingly pulling himself together after his initial shock, and of course the first thing out of his mouth was about last night.

"So Peverell, you failed to show up last night. I don't know how it was before you came here, but we have a curfew at 10 pm. You are supposed to be in bed by that time."  
He glanced over at Caelum, whose scales he was stroking as he let out a low hiss.

"I must apologize Riddle, I had to take Caelum here out so he could hunt. And seeing as most people in Slytherin are ignoring me probably by your orders, I figured I wouldn't be appreciated here. So I left." 

His voice was cold and accusing, and Riddle seemed to understand that he was blaming him.  
One of his eyebrows lifted slightly as his lips pulled into a slight frown.

"I see. Usually snakes are not approved pets here at Hogwarts because of the stigma surrounding them. But I will overlook that current fact to ask you this. Where were you last night?"

Riddle wanted answers. But he wouldn't get them. Not until Harry willingly gave them  
He couldn't help but smile slightly as he looked up at Riddle 

"That's for me to know and you to find out. And I figured you would be ignoring me like the rest of the house is, probably by your order, so why are you talking to me?"

Irritation flashed in those eyes again, before the cold mask slid into place again

"I wanted to make sure you were not doing anything you weren't supposed to. And I told my followers to ignore you because you are mine to solve. I told you that you would regret it, I don't like people rejecting me. Is it working?" 

Caelum hissed threateningly at Riddle, his yellow eyes dilating like a hawk observing it's prey before Harry spoke again. It was almost ridiculous how Riddle was acting, and Harry was going to let him know that.

"No it isn't actually. It's just insanely immature, and if I didn't know better I would say that a first year had planned it. If you really want to know my secrets you should get to know me instead of acting like a child."

Riddle's nose was twitching slightly at the insult for a second before he was acting emotionless yet again. He probably wasn't used to people outright insulting him like this.

"Alright then, I'll get to know you if that's what you want."  
Switching over to Parseltongue he asked  
"~Are you a Parseltongue?~"

Harry made sure not to react to the question and not switch over to Parseltongue as he replied

"Riddle, are you trying to talk to my snake or are you mocking me?"

Riddle relaxed slightly as he spoke again

"Oh no Peverell, I just wanted to know if you spoke to snakes."

He shook his head as he mentally congratulated himself for not outing himself

"No Riddle I don't, Caelum is my familiar. Though it would be useful sometimes to understand him"

Nodding he smiled slightly, and he couldn't tell if it was genuine or him just being manipulative. He suspected the latter.

"Alright then, I would be careful who knows about him. And perhaps you should join me for Breakfast instead of the Ravenclaws Peverell. It would provide an opportunity to get to know you better."

He turned to walk out of the dorms, before Harry spoke again

"It's Hadrian. If you really want to get to know me, you should at least know my first name. And I suppose it wouldn't hurt to join you. "

He could feel Riddle smirk even with his back turned 

"Then I suppose I should give my mine too. It's Tom. I'll see you at the Slytherin table, until then Hadrian."

As soon as Riddle, or Tom now, shut the door and was out of hearing distance, Harry laughed.  
He had just had a normal conversation with Tom Marvalo Riddle, and he had invited him to join him at Breakfast. And they had exchanged first names. 

Caelum seemed to feel the same way, as he hissed  
"~Well that went surprisingly smoothly.~"

Harry was getting his books for his classes and setting them on his bed to make sure he had everything he needed for the day.  
"~Yes, well I suppose I should get ready now. Are you hungry?~"

Caelum only hissed an affirmative as Harry set him down on the bed

"~I'll be back in a second. I have to take a shower, then I'll come back and you can go to the Forbidden Forest. You might even be able to hunt with Aislinn.~"

Most everyone was still asleep, and when he got in the bathroom there was already someone there. He could only assume it was Riddle, but he didn't have any power over him anyway. So he went to the shower furthest from the one Riddle was using and got in.

When he turned on the water he couldn't help but sigh in pleasure as the water hit his hair. He has learned to enjoy the simple pleasures in life, often the things he had missed growing up like hot showers. He was forced to take them on the coldest setting so he wouldn't use any hot water, which was all for the Dursleys. 

As he lathered the soap into his hair he started humming a tune to a lullaby he had heard Molly sing to Ginny sometimes when she was sick. It was called Clocks, and was apparently a muggle lullaby that Arthur had learned while he was at work from a muggle child. 

After he finished washing himself, he gathered a towel he had set aside and cast a heating charm that would evaporate the water and keep him warm. 

Putting on his uniform, he glanced at the other shower, which was now vacant. He shrugged and gathered his folded pajamas to put them back in his trunk and checked the time. It was almost 6 and he groaned, walking faster to his dorm. Opening the door Riddle was already gone again, probably talking to his followers already and he stuffed his clothing into the trunk.

He gathered Caelum again, putting a disillusionment charm on him and went to the common room. Several people were now up, some studying and talking with others walking around.

He walked out the door to the courtyard and to the edge of the field, letting Caelum go into the Forbidden Forest and bidding him farewell for now. 

"~I'll see you after classes Caelum, try not to get in any trouble~"

He hissed again in a snake laugh as he slithered away  
"~I think you are the one who should be careful not to get into trouble, especially with the interest of the other speaker.~"

Harry grumbled as he walked back to the castle, ready to go to breakfast.  
Students were now coming from their dorms and going to the Great Hall or visiting professors. The Prefects were also doing their morning rounds.

When he got into the Great Hall, he instantly felt stormy eyes on him, and couldn't help but snicker. He went over to the Slytherin table, and was met with several different reactions.  
Some Slytherins didn't react at all, with their empty masks, and others simply glared. Some seemed curious about him, and there were murmurs and whispers around the table.

Riddle simply gave him a smile, and motioned for him to sit at an empty seat beside him.  
Several people around him widened their eyes in shock, since Riddle never took an interest in anyone except when he was planning to destroy them. They were wanting to know how this would go.

Harry sat down beside him, and hoped to escape the awkward silence, so he spoke up  
"So Riddle, why don't you introduce me to your friends? They seem like they are quite curious."

Riddle inhaled as he closed his eyes, then motioned to the blond to his left, who looked strikingly like Draco. He could only assume he was a Malfoy with that bright platinum blonde hair and trademark sneer.

"This is Abraxas Malfoy, Peverell. He's the heir to the Malfoy line."  
Malfoy gave a curt nod in acknowledgement but kept his hands clasped together on the table. On his hands were several rings, with the most prominent being the Malfoy family ring with their crest on it. It was silver with a fancy M ingrained into it, with dragons on either side and intricate designs around them. His robes were the finest he had seen in a while, and it looked to be black velvet with silver accents.

"In front of you is Alexander Lestrange, also the heir to the Lestrange line."  
Lestrange smiled and gave a short wave to him, but otherwise remained still as he observed him.  
He could see the similarities to Bellatrix he had, the dark curly black hair with a few silver streaks that somehow seemed almost out of control but not quite. His light brown and blue mixed eyes were calm, but didn't hold the same crazed look that Bellatrix sported,  
His robes were simple, but good quality, the golden highlights flickering sometimes in the light.

"Orville Nott, of course the heir to the Nott family" The sandy brown haired boy greeted him, and he noticed the almost Ravenclaw blue in his robes. All the colours they had were the same ones on their crest. These purebloods really went all in. 

Riddle was going to continue to introduce more people, most likely his inner circle, when a black owl with a white and black striped chest, a black banded owl came into the Hall. It started flying toward the Slytherin table. None of the students seemed to recognise the owl, and as it came closer it seemed to be focused on him. It had a letter with a black wax seal in its beak.

He stood up a few feet away from the table and extended his arm for the owl to land. A few moments later the owl flew onto his extended arm and lowered it's head, dropping the letter into his hand and he scratched it's neck feathers the way Hedwig used to like. It cooed as he opened the letter.

At the bottom was the Peverell family crest, with the Deathly Hallows, and it was from Theodore.

Dear Hadrian, 

It's been a few days since we've seen each other, and you haven't used the Time Turner yet.  
I'll let you off the hook this time and assume you were busy.  
I'm sure you've got your hands full with Riddle and the rest of his Slytherins.  
Also I heard you got Slytherin!  
Now I owe Morty 5 galleons, I figured you might go in Ravenclaw this time.  
Oh well.

But anyway, now for the main news:  
I am now officially your magical guardian and your uncle!  
You know being immortal really has it's perks sometimes.

So now it's Theodore Peverell, your mother's brother.  
I figured you would want someone you knew to be your guardian, and who better than us?

Morty also wants to meet you the next time you have a break, no matter what he says,  
which I think is sometime in a few weeks.

It's going to be so much fun when you get here, we are cleaning up and renovating Peverell Mansion, and when you come you can help us finish up.

Also, about Grindelwald, don't worry about him, we will protect you.

Can't wait to see you, but I'm sure you have things to do so I'll and the letter here.

Signed: Theodore Peverell

P.s.: The owl's name is Azrael, pretty cool right?  
Morty picked him, he figured we could communicate this way if it wasn't an emergency. It's a lot more convenient. 

Harry smiled as he read the letter, Azrael was still on his arm, now preening himself his yellow beak occasionally disappearing underneath his feathers.

Lestrange glanced at Azrael, and then at Harry, then he spoke  
"So, who did you get that letter from?"

Harry looked up from the letter and the folded it, putting it back into the folder before he answered  
"It's from my uncle, he is going to be my new magical guardian since my parents died."

Riddle seemed interested but didn't speak, instead it was Lestrange again  
"Is that why you came here?"

"Well partially, it was also about time I went to an actual school anyway. Private tutors can only do so much"  
He sighed as if he were tired, which wasn't exactly a lie since he had been up since 3 am.

He told Azrael to go back to owlery, intending to go there later with a letter for Theodore. 

He sat down again, chatting with Lestrange, Malfoy and a few other Slytherins about potion ingredients and spells, and mocking Dumbledore for his many flaws. Riddle seemed to just absorb it all up, watching them, and sometimes he would catch him glancing at him, which never happened for long.

Soon it was almost time for classes and he had barely eaten anything, so he bid Riddle and the other Slytherins farewell as he grabbed a treacle tart and rushed out the Great Hall.

He was stopped by Leslie in the hallways, no doubt for sitting with Riddle during Breakfast.

"So, are you Riddle's lackey now? Just like the others?"  
She was upset and her honey colored hair seemed to burn with anger. 

"No Leslie, he invited me over there to sit with him, its not like I've abandoned you guys."

Despite being Ravenclaw it seemed like she definitely had some Gryffindor traits, such as her heated temper.  
"But it's Riddle! The very person who made Slytherin reject you! You can't just call us your friends and then leave us for him!"

His anger was rising as well, but he was fighting to keep it in control, unlike Leslie who was lashing out. He tried to be sensible with her, but he knew that it was useless. House rivalries ran deep, and people often held onto them with a passion. With Riddle involved it was just the cherry on top.

"Riddle and the Slytherins aren't that bad, we just got off on the wrong foot. You should stop it before you say something you regret."

Her eyes hardened as she glared at him with an accusatory look in her eyes.  
"I should've known. You're defending them and covering your own tail. Looking out for only yourself. You don't have any friends, so you had to run to Riddle for a little pat on the head from your master. Nothing but a slimy snake. Always have been, always will be." 

He flinched at this and couldn't help it as he spat out  
"You were supposed to be my friend! If you really were then you could just accept that I can have different friends.Im not something for you to own. I'm not yours or Riddle's. I tried to explain it to you but you just can't accept it! You are just as ignorant as they are!"

She continued to glare at him, and he turned his back on her, done with the argument and intending on going to Transfiguration.

Several people were staring and whispering about him, and he turned to see Robins and Keller walking over to Leslie. Robins was glaring at him as she went to her side, and Keller looked conflicted as he glanced between him and the girls.

He scoffed, as he didn't want to deal with them right now and continued to Transfiguration. Maybe Leslie could see the flaws in what she had said and apologize. Or maybe they weren't really friends as he had thought them to be. It seemed like a very flimsy friendship, and he found himself wondering why Leslie wasn't sorted into Gryffindor due to her brashness.

Classes went by as usual, with nothing interesting, except for the group project in potions, where he found himself paired with Riddle. Slughorn stated this was because they were his two best students, and they would work well together.

They both discussed how ingredients were prepared as well as timing could affect the potions, taking notes and working to improve the current Murtlap Essence they were making. He found it enjoyable, and Riddle was nice to work with. If not for the argument earlier that day he might have considered Riddle a friend. But he was a bit more wary to consider people, especially Riddle of all people as his friend quite yet. They barely knew each other so he considered them currently on friendly terms. Besides, Riddle had motivation behind getting closer to him, and he really wanted a genuine friendship if possible instead of just a convenient agreement for information.

After meeting Caelum at the edge of the Forbidden Forest again, he went back to his dorms. Riddle was getting ready to go to bed, as well as his other two roommates who he now knew were Avery and Malfoy. 

It was certainly nicer when they weren't ignoring him, and he sighed contentedly as he lay down on his bed. Riddle had just come in from the bathroom, hair still slightly damp as that stay curl bounced a little as he walked to his bed.

He put up his wards and gathered Caelum beside him before turning to Riddle before closing the curtains  
"Goodnight Riddle."

There was a small moment of hesitance before he responded, and surprisingly he couldn't find any bitterness or iciness in his tone. It seemed… almost genuine.  
"Goodnight Peverell, I'll see you tomorrow."

And with that there was a rustle of curtains as they closed and Riddle went to bed. Harry turned his back before doing the same thing and stroking Caelum's scales, soon drifting off.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 6 is now complete!
> 
> Also, I'm wondering if I should just merge Harry's POV and Tom's POV to be one chapter so the story can progress faster  
> If I did do that I might do alternating between the two throughout the day, with headers to tell the difference.
> 
> Or would that be more confusing?  
> Tell me which you prefer, or anything else you want to say!
> 
> Comments and kudos are great, but thank you for just reading!


	7. Burgeon

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Burgeon - begin to grow or increase rapidly; to flourish 
> 
> Alright!  
> So most people wanted me to merge the chapters and POVs.  
> This is the result, so tell me what you think!
> 
> Anyway,  
> Tom's POV of Chapter 6, and then Harry getting closer with Riddle and his inner circle  
> Also he tries out for the Quidditch team, and gets, you guessed it Seeker.
> 
> Also short little snipet at the end of a probably (not so secret) person. 
> 
> Hope you enjoy!

**Tom's POV**

Tom didn't what he was exactly expecting to see when he woke up the next morning, but it most certainly wasn't Peverell, who had been missing the previous night.

He woke up as he did everyday, mentally going through his checklist for the day , before muttering the spell to lift his curtains. Planning on going to the bathrooms to take a shower and then find Peverell and go on with his day. He sat up to go to the door, only to find the very person he was going to find.

Peverell was on his bed with the curtains open, reading a book about magical creatures, with a snake around his neck. He couldn't help but feel himself tense as he stared at the boy who caught him off guard. He seemed relaxed and softly smiled as he shut the book and set it aside, giving his attention to him. His raven hair seemed to shine in the light along with the blue and black scales of his snake.

He forced himself to act composed despite the slight shock he felt from the abrupt meeting.  
Almost no one had seen him before he had put himself together for the day. That was one of the reasons he got up so early, as well as enjoying the solitude and not the irritating voices of his followers or people he had to charm. 

And even then Peverell had managed to catch him. It seemed his curiosity about him just continued to grow immensely every day that passed.  
Just who was he? Sometimes he caught himself wondering who the boy was behind all the power and mystery he held. Maybe he wanted to actually know the boy himself and not just what he could offer him… That was before he realized just what he was saying and then immediately pushed the thought away. The appeal came from his power and mystery, nothing else. He was going to solve this puzzle and then his interest would fade out, like it always did.

Those shining emeralds also never looked at him with fear or disdain or feigned indifference, as most people did. Dumbledore glared at him with a mixture of the three, as if he knew what he would become before he did. Even his own followers seemed to mostly only fear him, or only follow him for their own gain. It was refreshing to have someone look at him differently. It seemed like it was a mixture of respect and a hint of what looked like interest, with several other emotions he couldn't pinpoint. 

He didn't want to seem like he was too affected by it, so he quickly addressed Peverell's absence last night. He knew he probably seemed like a posh asshole, but he supposed that was what most people saw him as. Those who knew more would know he was a posh asshole that was not only charming and manipulative, but also bent on ruling the world and with an unquenched thirst for power. Not that Peverell needed to know that, not yet.  
"So Peverell, you failed to show up last night. I don't know how it was before you came here, but we have a curfew at 10 pm. You are supposed to be in bed by that time."

He started talking about how he had to let his snake, whose name was apparently "Caelum" out to the Forbidden Forest to hunt. Just who was Peverell for the headmaster to allow this? Or maybe he didn't know at all. If it was any other student, he probably would've held this information as potential blackmail, but he had already noticed that Peverell was not all that he seemed. He did not want to underestimate him again.

Then Peverell did something no one, especially not another student, had done to him since 3rd year. He accused him. Not only did he accuse him, but he did so to his face. Stating that he was the one that had told everyone to ignore him, then asking him why he was even talking to him if that's what he wanted. He knew it was probably obvious, but anyone else wouldn't have mentioned it at all for fear of retribution from him or his followers.

"I wanted to make sure you were not doing anything you weren't supposed to. And I told my followers to ignore you because you are mine to solve. I told you that you would regret it, I don't like people rejecting me. Is it working?"

Seemingly noticing the hint of a threatening tone, Peverell's snake lifted it's head, giving a warning hiss toward him. It seemed to be very loyal to him, and he wondered if it was just a spell, or if like everything else with Peverell, there was another thing going on that he didn't know.

There was also the thought in the back of his mind that most everyone seemed to be afraid, or at least wary of snakes. Even his own Slytherins cowered when he summoned a serpent and hissed commands to it, mostly for punishment. But Peverell was fine with them, having one around his shoulders, as if it were normal. He was even stroking it's head, as if to calm it down, and it seemed to like it, leaning into the touch as it's hissing calmed..

Bringing his eyes back to Peverell, he looked like he was about to scoff, as if what he had said was utterly ridiculous. There was still no fear, just irritation in that glowing green.  
He continued to stroke the snake's head as he spoke, his voice like that as if he were speaking to a child, and he had to be the more mature one with reasoning.  
"No it isn't actually. It's just insanely immature, and if I didn't know better I would say that a first year had planned it. If you really want to know my secrets you should get to know me instead of acting like a child."

Peverell was certainly different, even unique, but if he were anyone else he would've tasted a curse as soon as those words left his mouth. Anger, an emotion Peverell seemed more than capable of bringing out in him, as proved by their first encounter, rose up. However, externally nothing would seem out of place with his cool and composed mask, save for the anger in his eyes. 

It was a cold, threatening, and silent rage. Inside, a thousand thoughts rushed into his mind, ranging from wanting to strangle the boy in front of him or curse him until he couldn't speak, to oddly enough, a fleeting thought of excitement, and to take the challenge. Which was unacceptable, why would he want opposition to him?

Taking a deep breath to silence his raging mind, he focused on keeping his voice even. He leaned toward Peverell a little, too far for his snake to strike, but enough for him to notice.

"Alright then, I'll get to know you if that's what you want."  
Then he smirked and started speaking in Parseltongue.  
"~Are you a Parseltongue?~"

The snake on his shoulders narrowed it's eyes, somehow not surprised at the boy in front of him speaking it's tongue. Most snakes jumped at the sight of a speaker, and immediately wanted to obey him, or at the very least they were interested. But probably like it's owner, there was more to it than what met the eye.

He could feel his heart beating in his chest, betraying his calm, collected demeanor. This was the moment of truth, he desperately wanted to know if Peverell could speak Parseltongue. He had several thoughts surrounding it, the most prominent one being he should extinguish the threat, before it became a problem. If Peverell spoke it, then that could undermine and raise questions about his right as the Heir of Slytherin. 

That was not something he would allow, no matter how much Peverell might offer him. But another voice, a meek voice, one he had ignored for years, and which he thought he would never hear again, held another thought. One he detested for even daring to enter his mind.  
He would be like him, it would give him another reason that the boy would be his. But he barely even gave the thought a glance, for Tom Marvalo Riddle was unique, this was his birthright, and his only.

Peverell only raised an eyebrow, as if questioning him. He didn't seem to understand the hisses, and yet he didn't react like most people. Of course, it was Peverell he was talking to.  
"Riddle, are you trying to talk to my snake or are you mocking me?"

He shook his head, and a stray thought that his hair wasn't brushed came. He ran his fingers over his hair to compose it, feigning boredom from the conversation,  
"Oh no Peverell, I just wanted to know if you spoke to snakes."

Peverell sighed as he spoke again, turning his head to his snake. He couldn't help but feel relief, and grudgingly enough, a flicker of disappointment at the words. He ignored that to prevent further thoughts about it.  
"No Riddle I don't, Caelum is my familiar. Though it would be useful sometimes to understand him"

"Alright then, I would be careful who knows about him. And perhaps you should join me for Breakfast instead of the Ravenclaws Peverell. It would provide an opportunity to get to know you better."  
He gave a small charming smile as he spoke, seemingly in understanding.  
Then he turned to leave to go to the bathrooms . He refused to let Peverell elicit any other unwanted emotions or actions from him.

He was stopped by a soft voice, one that didn't grate his ears as most people's did, with their demands and ridiculous beliefs or excuses.  
"It's Hadrian. If you really want to get to know me, you should at least know my first name. And I suppose it wouldn't hurt to join you. "

His lip upturned into a soft smile, and he cursed himself for being so out of control. He didn't even know why he was smiling. He didn't turn around, lest Peverell, or… Hadrian. No, Peverell  
see his smile.  
"Then I suppose I should give you mine too. It's Tom. I'll see you at the Slytherin table, until then Hadrian."

Then he quickly left the dorms to take a shower and collect himself.  
What was wrong with him? He had such good control over his emotions usually, and one boy wasn't going to get into the way of that. He had made a vow never to get close to people other then using them for his own gain, then discarding them and moving on.

He was halfway through taking a shower when he thought he heard someone. No one else would dare to use the bathrooms when he was using them, so it had to be Peverell. He refused to use his first name, because that symbolized familiarity and closeness with the other, neither of which he wanted.

He stopped washing his hair for a moment to listen to the sound. It was a tune, one with which he was quite familiar. Then he froze. It was Clocks. Clocks was a lullaby the Matron used to sing to the children when they were having a hard time going to sleep. Never himself though, because no one wanted to get close to the Devil who had unrealistically dark blue eyes and lack of caring to anyone. Much less comfort or sing to him. They saw him as a cold, heartless monster. 

Back then he had denied it. He would find someone who loved him, one who didn't see a monster. But then he realized that everyone saw him as a monster, no matter how much they denied it. They wouldn't even go near him unless it was for them. He realised he was a monster, and he was going to use it to his full advantage. Love was useless to him, except when he used other's love against them for his own use. 

He quickly finished washing, putting his clothes on as fast as he could, to get away from that damned tune. He went back to the dorms, with Malfoy and Avery just getting up. They seemed to sense his irritation but knew better than to ask. Neither wanted to start the morning by being put under a curse. Hissing at his chest, it popped open for him to get his books and wand. 

Then he went to the Great Hall, sitting in the middle of the table, at his invisible throne. His inner circle was around him, and he figured after talking with Peverell this morning he should revoke his order for the house to reject him. He didn't want him to go back to those blasted Ravenclaws anyway, and it would help him get closer to Peverell. He told his inner circle this as they nodded, not questioning their Lord's orders.

Then Peverell entered the Great Hall. He was smirking for some reason as he walked toward the Slytherin table, and he could hear the curious whispers around him as he motioned for him to sit beside him. He knew what they were thinking, just who was Peverell for Tom Riddle to let him sit beside him. They were even more curious since just yesterday he had them reject him. But let them wonder, they would never know anyway.

Peverell wanted him to introduce him to his friends, which he mentally scoffed at. Dark Lords didn't have friends, only followers, and he was going to be one so what was the point? He let Peverell have his idea of him having friends anyway, and started to introduce his inner circle starting with Malfoy. Peverell seemed to listen, he guessed he was used to Pureblood politics, but he didn't know the extent of it. He had gotten to Nott when a black owl flew into the hall.

He should've figured it was Peverell's, and as the owl got closer to the table, Peverell stood up and went away from the table. He then extended his arm for the owl to perch on as he read the letter, which looked official enough. It had a black wax seal crest, and judging from Peverell's reaction to it, which was a soft smile, it was from someone he knew. He put the letter back into the envelope, and dismissed the owl, which then flew out of the Hall, probably to the Owlery.

Lestrange spoke up, though everyone seemed interested,asking where the letter was from and Peverell answered that it was from his Uncle.

Apparently Peverell's parents had died, and his Uncle was going to be his new magical guardian. There were multiple Peverells and no one had known about them. Where had they been hiding?

After that he started talking about potion ingredients, Dumbledore, and many other things with his inner circle. Peverell was very intelligent, and he seemed to be informed, despite allegedly being away from everything for so long. He also easily talked about things, and his inner circle started to warm up to him. He himself was never in any of the conversations, but he was listening. Soon breakfast was almost over, and Peverell noticed it too, grabbing a treacle tart and then rushing out to the halls.

Malfroy turned to him, clearly charmed by Peverell like everyone else, but hiding it the best, besides himself of course.  
"I can see why you like him My Lord."

Nodding and glancing over to the door where Peverell had left, he kept himself composed as he answered.  
"He will be a useful asset."

Then he started walking to Transfiguration, and the Slytherins that also had it followed him.  
As he walked away he could hear Lestrange, who was more open than most of his inner circle speak to one of his friends.  
"Not only is Peverell really intelligent, he also is cute. I think he'll be great. You think he would be my friend?"

Riddle ignored him and continued on. When he walked into the classroom, there was a tense air, and it seemed to be emitting from Peverell's magic, which was twisting around him in grayish waves. Something had happened between the Great Hall and Transfiguration.

He asked a Slytherin near him that had left before he did, and they told him what happened.  
Apparently Desford had approached Peverell and Peverell had snapped at her. That's why his mood was sour and his magic was wild. It wasn't unleashed as much as it was yesterday when he unleashed it to counter his own, but it was still very powerful.

Other than that classes were normal. In Potions though Peverell was his partner when they were making Murtlap Essence. He was very good at potions, and seemed to understand how the ingredients worked with each other. While they were working, he had added Aloe Vera to it, which helped increase the potency of it when healing wounds. It was impressive indeed, and a nice change from the usual partners he had. Talking with someone who understood him and not having to make sure they didn't mess up the potion or make it blow up in his face was relieving. 

After classes, he didn't see him again until he was going to bed, when Peverell turned to him and bid him goodnight. He did the same, and as he fell asleep he felt a small fuzzy feeling in his chest. Peculiar.

**Harry's POV**

When Harry had woken up, he had to recount everything from yesterday to make sure it wasn't a dream. He had indeed gotten on friendly terms with Riddle and his inner circle, as well as opening the Chamber of Secrets. The basilisk inside had accepted him as the Heir, and her name was Aislinn. It all seemed so surreal. But then again, he had traveled back to the past, so that seemed to pale in comparison.

He flicked the curtains open, yawning before standing up. Riddle was getting his stuff for the day from his chest, pausing upon hearing him yawn. A small smirk fell on his lips as he spoke, the dark blue of his eyes shimmering.  
"Someone not getting enough sleep?"

He waved the comment away as he gathered his clothing to take a shower. He felt half asleep, and mumbled an answer to Riddle before downing a pepper up potion.  
"That's the best you could come up with Riddle?"

Riddle still had that stupid smirk on his face, and his voice was humourous, but with a hint of seriousness.  
"Don't rely on those potions too much, or else you might get addicted."

He only scoffed as he took his clothes and went to the door.  
"What a lovely turn to the conversation, Good morning to you too Riddle."

"Its only the truth Peverell, and Good morning."  
Who would've thought the future Dark Lord would have a sense of humor, and joke, and with him nonetheless. He went to the shower, planning to go to the Chamber to check on Caelum and Aislinn, since they had decided to stay there for the night. Sometime he would have to explore the Chambers, since there were stairs and multiple passages. One of the books in the black library had mentioned Salazar Slytherin's study being in one of the passages in the Chamber.

They had each other, so they were fine while he was at class and hanging out with other people. They also could go to the Forbidden Forest anytime they wanted. Walking to the lantern with the snake Aislinn had mentioned, he went to the Chamber. This way was a lot cleaner, and it also had stairs. Though it was still a little dark, nothing a lumos wouldn't fix though. He conjured a rabbit for Caelum and a deer for Aislinn, and after they thanked him, he went to the Great Hall.

Sitting where he did yesterday, he easily fell into conversation with Lestrange and the rest of Riddle's inner circle. Even Riddle occasionally chipped into the conversation for a moment or two. They were nice company, if a little drawn back at times. He could see where there were some pureblood practices still ingrained into them, specifically whenever the conversation drifted into something regarding muggles, and muggleborns. But it wasn't as bad as it had seemed when he was a Gryffindor, and he found himself enjoying it. 

Nott mentioned something about Quidditch, and though a few people scoffed, Lestrange began to grin. Apparently Charlus Potter, the seeker for the Gryffindor Quidditch team had been going neck to neck with the Slytherins in their games against each other. Lestrange was a Beater, and was a very good one at that. He had put several of their players out of the game, needing to go to the infirmary. Maybe some of the family craziness wasn't lost.

However, their Seeker Perry Flint had left this year, completing his education at Hogwarts and the team was going through Seekers as fast as they got them. They had been on a loosing streak, though Lestrange proudly stated that he had continued to put other house's players in the infirmary. He mentioned that he had played Quidditch as a pastime, and he was decent.  
Nott suggested that he try out, and Lestrange seemed thrilled with this idea.

"If you are as good as you say, you and I are going to tear though them next game, you get the Snitch and I'll keep their players away and soon they'll be on the ground"  
Then he gave a cackle that could even give Bellatrix a run for her money.  
Riddle seemed indifferent about the idea, silent throughout the exchange.  
He wondered if he had an interest in the sport, or if he was any good.

After classes, which went by surprisingly quickly, he met Lestrange outside of the Runes classroom, and they went to the Quidditch Field. It was larger than it was in the future, before they modified the rules and rewired everything. The basis of the game was the same, with all the positions and balls not changing, but the size and restrictions changed so it could be safer for the players after an international player took a bludger to the head and died. But that was some 20 years in the future, so it was a lot rougher and dirtier than when he had played in the future, with more freedom for the players.

The Slytherin Quidditch Captain, Winky Crockett, was there, shouting commands and warmups at the players in the sky as he wrote on his clipboard. He was short, especially for a Slytherin, but he was very much a snake. Lestrange dragged him over to Crocket and introduced him.  
Crocket only raised an eyebrow, maintaining a frown he had worn ever since Harry had first seen him. Apparently he was harsh, but underneath the hard exterior he cared for his players.

"Well let's get you up in the air and see if your flying skills can keep up with Lestrange's praise. Go over to the benches and pick a spare broom."  
His words seemed rehearsed, as he probably had to tell multiple people every day, and he also didn't seem to expect much. He had already turned away from Harry and was jotting things on his clipboard again.

Picking up the broom that seemed the most responsive, he familiarized himself with the broom, seeing how the weight and lean was before starting. He then walked back over to Crocket and asked him what he had to do.

"Nothing much, just fly around, show me your skills. Impress me. You need to prove to me you are worthy of being the Slytherin team Seeker."  
He motioned to the black box beside him.  
"And if I think your flying is decent enough, then you have to catch the Snitch of course. You have to be able to do it in training if you are planning on doing it in actual matches."

Nodding, he walked onto the field and got onto his broom. Then he took a deep breath channeling his energy into the broom and pushing off the ground. The effect was instant and exhilarating. He was flying through the air, and he pulled the broom up, shooting straight into the sky. He loved flying, and when he got high enough for clouds to form and the air to chill his skin, he took a moment to breathe in the sky air. It was like pure freedom up here, without anything to stop him.

Then he darted back down, going faster and faster as the ground became closer. He thought he even heard someone scream for a medic, since they thought he was going to crash. Then he yanked the broom up, just before hitting the ground. There was a small circle in the field from the force, and he then darted through the loops and did a few more tricks before getting off his broom.

It was tiring, and he could feel the beginnings of sweat droplets on his forehead, his hair wild and cheeks red. Lestrange rushed over to him, declaring that was the best flying he had ever seen. There was no way they could lose. Crocket approached him, clipboard underneath his arm, and his frown gone.  
"Impressive Peverell, you seem to know your way around on your broom. Fast and controlled, just what we need. Congratulations, you're our new Seeker. Welcome to the Slytherin Quidditch team. The next practice is next Wednesday. Be there."

He was exhausted as he went to the showers, scrubbing off the salt and sweat he had gained. Putting on his pajamas he collapsed onto the bed, closing his eyes. The irony he would be playing against a Potter sometime. He was someone completely different than what he used to be, and he let out a tired chuckle, flopping onto his back.

Just then Riddle entered the dorms, Slytherin green pajamas on as he walked over to his bed and opened his chest. He began talking as he put his books and uniform away.  
"So you are good at Quidditch too then? Not many people could do that stunt you pulled. If you weren't completely sure you could've done that, it could have resulted in a major injury."

He seemed almost like he cared, though he was quick to brush it off as Riddle being manipulative.  
"Well, I'm pretty decent at it I suppose. And it isn't the first time i've done that. I've figured out the timing and everything. Do you like Quidditch? "  
Asking this, he turned to better face him as Riddle shut his chest and sat down on his bed.

"I suppose it isn't all bad, though I don't really see the point. It's just a game."  
And he seemed sincere enough about that.

in turn, he decided to be honest with him too.  
"Honestly, for me it isn't really about the game, it's the feeling of complete freedom as you fly. Up there, there isn't anything to hold you back, it's just you and the sky."

Riddle leaned down into his pillow, lying down as he put his hands around the back of his head.  
"It's just that anything could go wrong, your magic, broom, weather, and then you are at the mercy of something else. And you are powerless to stop it."

It shocked him that Riddle seemed so open, he never imagined he would, but he was still hesitant to accept that it was real. He didn't know the extent of his manipulations, where lie and truth started or stopped. Though he supposed it was the same with him. Given time perhaps, that could change, maybe they would get closer. But for now, this was acceptable, as he conversed with Riddle about Quidditch. No Prophecies or Horcruxes or anything else at the moment. Just this.

"Well it isn't so bad if you have someone else. That way if you fall, they can save you. And you them"

"And what if you both fall?"

"At least you won't be alone."  
There was silence in the air, though it wasn't tense, but instead thoughtful. Though it was eventually broken by Riddle scoffing.  
"Don't go getting all mushy, Peverell. We are Slytherins after all, not Gryffindors."

"Whatever Riddle, see you tomorrow. Goodnight"

"Goodnight Peverell."

And with that there was a rustling of curtains and then an easy silence, with nothing but the sound of moving water from the lake, and dim green light. Eventually though, emerald and sapphire eyes closed, content for what seemed like the first time in forever for both.

**??? POV**

There was a flash of apparition as someone came into the room. Blue firelight from the fireplace blanketed everything in what otherwise would have been darkness.  
A light grey and black eye both followed their path as they approached.  
"Ah my most loyal follower. Tell me, what have you learned while you were gone?"

They bowed as they stood in front of the Dark Lord, their robes switching to that of his followers, revealing Grindlewald's mark on the clothing.  
"The Peverell boy is very powerful, and exceeds in all subjects. Though he is beginning to get closer to Riddle. Dumbledore was already cautious of Riddle, but now with Peverell it seems like even he doesn't know anything about him. No one does, and the only connection is to his Uncle, which recently appeared out of hiding. That is all My Lord."

A grin came from the Dark Lord, as he stroked his mustache in thought.  
"You have done well, and you will be rewarded. Now you may be dismissed"

They nodded before bowing again and apparating again. Their robes morphed back into the Hogwarts uniform.

And soon, a fox ran back to the Castle, unknown to anyone there.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There's Chapter 7!
> 
> So tell me what you think of the new format, as well as anything you like or think I should change.
> 
> I read all the comments, and I appreciate people taking the time out their day to read this  
> I can't believe almost 4,000 people have read this already, it's insane
> 
> You all are amazing!


	8. Sareureuk

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sareureuk - (korean) the sound and motion of snowflakes slowly melting under the morning sunshine
> 
> So timeskip to Valentine's Day, featuring Tom having feelings that he totally doesn't want and not hating Peverell like he's supposed to. 
> 
> (Someone needs to tell him The Nile isn't just a river.)
> 
> Also Harry is starting like enjoy staying in the past, and he's just having a good time.
> 
> Barely any dialogue this chapter, it's mostly just to progress the story 
> 
> Plus, a bit of the old goat's POV at the end.

**Tom POV**

It had been a few weeks since he had invited Peverell to join him at the Slytherin table. Since then several things had happened. His inner circle had accepted Peverell as one of their own, and the rest of Slytherin seemed to at the least tolerate him. Several of them, including Lestrange, had also gotten closer to him, and they could often be seen talking about various things and playing Quidditch. 

Peverell seemed to have this aura around him that drew people to him. Other houses, who were usually wary of Slytherins, seemed to be included. Hufflepuffs, Ravenclaws, and even an occasional Gryffindor if they could swallow their pride, would come to him. It was effective he had to say, almost close to even his own charming methods, though his were much more effective. And Peverell wasn't trying to collect a following. No, he was just enjoying himself, it was a passive thing, though his eyes would flicker dangerously at times. 

From an outside view, he would seem to be an outlier in Slytherin. He was too friendly and caring, not devious enough to be a snake. However he knew better. Peverell often wore a mask, as Slytherins did, but his was so convincing that it seemed he was an open book. Even when at times it was the complete opposite. The only thing that betrayed this was his eyes. They were far too expressive for him to hide his emotions completely. And it seemed like only he knew, due to his ability to read people. Just another ability that was his and his only.

When Peverell would talk with random people that approached him, his face would pull into a soft smile that was understanding and patient, waiting for them to finish. He would give them his time, and while they talked his eyes would flicker with his true emotions. Be it irritation, exhaustion, boredom, excitement, or the various others he had shown. However when talking with people he knew better, such as Lestrange, his mask dropped, and would only appear if a sensitive subject was brought up or something was said that elicited an unwanted emotion. His eyes would grow empty, as if he became a ghost, and his words and actions mechanical until it passed.

At first Peverell was a complete mystery to him, but he had been slowly unraveling the green eyed wonder. He could read his emotions usually, and he was learning more and more about the boy. He liked treacle tarts and butterbeer, though knew and appreciated the finer delicacies as well. Cooking was something he had learned in his youth, and he could fix a wide range of courses. In Quidditch, which he really enjoyed, he was probably the best Seeker and maybe flier Hogwarts had ever seen. The game between Gryffindor and Slytherin had ended in an almost record breaking 42 minutes when he caught the snitch. Potter hadn't even caught sight of the flash of gold when he was on it's tail, sharp emerald eyes focused on the ball.

Childhood was a sore subject for Peverell, and he avoided it as much as possible. And he seemed to detest the word mudblood, though he never said anything, just a silent fury in his eyes and a tightened grip on a utensil. He would also space out occasionally, snapping out of it when someone got his attention, apologizing and then resuming as if nothing had happened. His parents were also something he never mentioned, and anything said about his life before coming to Hogwarts was short, brief, and then accompanied with a change of subject. 

Tom would say he was pretty close with Peverell, despite not calling him by his first name. Peverell seemed to acknowledge that when addressing him, and in turn greeted him as Riddle. It was a friendly relationship, with occasional teasing and jokes. His snake Caelum seemed to understand him, and despite not speaking Parseltongue, Peverell seemed to understand the snake as well.

Of course he didn't genuinely like Peverell, and just wanted information to solve the puzzle he was. Then he would decide how to deal with him. That annoying meek voice in his head had been handled again, shoved into the deepest corner of his mind, as to not hinder him again with any unwanted sentiments. They were unnecessary and bothersome when genuine, and the last thing he needed was any emotions contributing to his decisions. He was never going to lower himself to be a lovesick fool.  
He didn't want or need anyone, he had himself and that was all he required. No need to complicate things.  
Though he did prefer Peverell's company to any of the rest of his followers, but solitude was still ideal.

However most of those things were surface level, things most people could get, and Tom Marvalo Riddle had never settled for average. He wanted to know what was hiding under all that, who he truly was, his history, and everything else behind that wall. And he would get as close to Peverell as he needed to do it.

He was still searching for the Chamber, but to his aggravation, he still hadn't found it. But unless Salazar had decided to put it in the girls bathrooms or a broom closet he couldn't think of a reasonable place to hide it. Perhaps there was a secret entrance somewhere in the wall, where a stone could be pushed or behind a portrait. Though it would also have to do with Parseltongue since it wasn't just anyone who could open it.

He had also been steadily gaining followers and reputation as was to be expected. He was showered with praise everywhere, but Peverell still managed to appear there too. His grades were incredible, on par with his, and he was constantly having to gain more information to have the upper hand. It was very annoying, having someone who was just as good as him. He didn't have an equal, just followers and enemies. But it seemed Peverell could be an exception if there ever were one. He was certainly making his life less boring, but he could keep telling himself that it was a negative thing.

Peverell even was managing to pull him into conversations with his followers, which he had never done before. He didn't need to clog his brain with useless information such as who their crush was or how the Slytherin team did last game. But Peverell would chat with them and then turn to him. And despite all good judgement, he found himself answering. 

The days went by, with him getting closer yet to Peverell. It was soon Valentine's day, the chill that January brought turning into a February breeze. The cold winter still hadn't subsided yet, but bright reds, pinks and purples joined the snowflake white. The castle had been infected with the terrible mockery of a holiday. He had always despised Valentine's day, and as he watched other students whisper and giggle about their secret crushes and dates it just strengthened his view on the ridiculous occasion. Even his own house was not immune, with some of the snakes exchanging letters and flowers, flashes of hearts and other nonsense. Whenever he caught his followers doing such vile activities he scolded them, and it just worsened his foul mood that day.

Of course he knew he was handsome, young and put together, what many people saw as the perfect boy. He used it to his advantage, and it was very useful. But it also was something that came back to bite him. This was one of those times.There were bound to be some of the letters and gifts addressed to him. Numerous flowers and boxes full of chocolate along with letters shoved full of hearts, literally and figuratively came to him throughout the day. 

He detested it all, but still went through it all in case there was something even remotely useful in this mess. Satisfaction from having so many people infatuated with him and under his thumb was quickly overwhelmed by his growing annoyance. The bouquets of flowers were set to the side, so he didn't have to smell their overwhelming aroma as he began studying the boxes of chocolates. Several were spiked, from both people who saw him as an enemy and an obsession.  
Poisons, compulsions, and many other things, and the most awful of them all, love potions.

When he came across the ones spiked with love potions, rage flared up inside. It was twisted in every way, to make a person want to give everything for them, to do anything in the name of love. It was the strongest kind of manipulation, and it infuriated him that people thought they could do that to him. Tom Marvalo Riddle would never fall in love with another. This day was the best example. When you gave someone your heart, you were trusting them not to break it. Trusting others made you weak. Well too bad he didn't have a heart, and if he did, it was locked away never to see the light of day.

Even thinking about it made him angry, and he turned his attention away from the holiday. It would all pass eventually, ending in tears and broken hearts, as it always did. Besides, there were more important things he needed to deal with. He had been putting locating the Chamber of Secrets in the background. Cursing himself, he blamed it on his recent obsession with Peverell. The green eyes held secrets, but he wasn't that important, and he would lose interest sooner or later. Though perhaps he could get his snake to help him. Maybe it knew where it was, or had heard the basilisk in its travels. All the books he had read had led him to a dead end. He didn't want to walk around the castle aimlessly like a first year, but if he wanted to find it, he might have to do it himself.

He sighed as he sat down on his bed, showered and sour. Just then, the door opened, revealing an exhausted looking Peverell. Great, just what he needed, another lovesick idiot to deal with today. But to his surprise, he didn't start blabbering about some student that he had googly eyes for or anything of the sort. Instead he sat on his bed, groaning softly. Then he spoke softly, and if he wasn't facing him, he would have thought he was talking to himself.  
"Valentine's day is such a ridiculous holiday. Pointless really. Wouldn't you say Riddle?"

At this point he had been around him so much that the other Slytherin rarely shocked him anymore. But he had never expected this. All of Hogwarts seemed to be involved in the day, his followers and even inner circle so intolerable he had long abandoned them that morning. It had been all they could talk about. Peverell wasn't ugly after all, in fact he was actually attractive, and was bound to get at least one confession. He had expected Peverell to just mesh in with the others and eventually he would forget him, just another follower in his inner circle.

But as the shock faded, his irritation came back in place of it. He didn't want to charm anyone right now or put on his mask. So he didn't, and instead let his irritation show as he spoke. He probably seemed the opposite of what he usually was, so composed and perfect. But when he began to show his true nature people fled. They were scared and didn't want anything to do with it.  
"It's absolutely disgusting. Love is useless and the way it affects people is pathetic. And anyone who trusts another with their heart is an idiot. This entire thing is a joke and a mockery of wizarding. It makes you weak, and I can't believe everyone is so affected." 

Peverell only nodded his head, understanding in his eyes. It was weird, not the pity or disgust that the adults used to give him, nor the horror and ignorance other students gave him. It was the look from another that had experienced the same thing, and it connected them. Not that he was connected to Peverell.  
"I can agree that the holiday is pretty much a joke."

He let out a bitter chuckle, hollow and gone of humor.  
"Why would you have a holiday about expressing and telling your love of another? If you really need an entire holiday for you to express it, it must not be much of a love."

His irritation was fading away, replaced by how the thought of how ridiculous Peverell was starting to sound, as only Peverell could. It wasn't because of stupidity, but because it was said from a point of view he never had. And it was said with such convocation and reasoning he couldn't believe that he might have listened to him. But he had been making sure he didn't. He couldn't have Peverell change his beliefs, no matter how convincing his words were.

Looking Peverell in the eye, he could see the twinkle of amusement. He resisted the urge to scowl, not wanting to give him that power over him. He could keep his emotions in control, damn Peverell.  
"I think you are missing the point."

Peverell continued to hold eye contact in the silent standoff as he continued. He lowered his head into his hands, which were resting on his knees as he sat on the bed.  
"Well what's your point besides that love is useless? It's not. The holiday may be a joke, but love can be a force to deal with."

He was starting to sound like the figureheads of the light side. With their 'love conquers everything' mess. It was times like these when he wondered if Peverell had been a Gryffindor in a past life.  
"As far as I have seen, it's nothing but a weakness for people to take advantage of and hang it over your head. That makes it useless."

"Then I suppose you might need someone to show you it isn't."  
He had said it with a straight face, but his words contrasted with that action. He was probably mentally smirking.

Did… Peverell just flirt with him?  
He should be disgusted and horrified, and at first he was quick to label the emotions that sprung forth from the statement as such. But his heart had quickened, and the emotions weren't really negative. Instead it made his stomach jump, and he had to put more attention into keeping his composure. Why did he willingly spend time with Peverell when he had this effect on him? It was a weakness, and his secrets probably weren't worth it. Was Peverell trying to do this on purpose? Maybe the reason he had rejected him in the first place was that he wanted to take his place. Get closer to him and grasp at the weaknesses he had, exposing them to his followers.

But he hadn't been doing anything else that supported that idea. He seemed content with his company and respected his boundaries. He didn't pry for information or talk behind his back. That he knew of. If he was against him though, why was he so nice, and why did it seem so genuine? His mask seemed to drop around him, but did he have multiple? It seemed impossible, and Peverell was still somewhat emotional sometimes.

Just when he thought he was starting to understand the raven haired boy.  
Well, either way he couldn't let Peverell know that it had affected him. Even if he was by chance being genuine, he would probably continue to say things like that, and in turn make him feel this way again.  
"Oh and I suppose you will be the one to show me? Dream on Peverell."

As soon as the words left his mouth he knew he had said the wrong thing. Peverell was grinning like the cat that got the cream, and he could feel his heart still beating rapidly.  
"You would be surprised with what goes on in my dreams."

He sneered, because otherwise he might have done something absolutely unacceptable like act emotionally or affected. This was so stupid. Oddly enough, it wasn't an angry sneer.  
"You are disgusting Peverell."

"Well I can't be that bad if Mr.Perfect Slytherin willingly spends time with me."  
He was still grinning from ear to ear, no longer looking exhausted like he had when he came in.  
It suited him, not looking like he had the weight of an entire war on his shoulders. Not that he fancied him, but he could appreciate beauty when he saw it. Those eyes should be bright, not dull and tired.

"Yeah well, I'm starting to rethink my decision to do so."  
It was ridiculous, he was talking with Peverell like a child. What was even more ridiculous was how he wasn't adverse to it.

"Took you long enough"  
Peverell's smile softened into a gentle turn of the lips, and he relaxed. He sighed, and with it anything he had on his mind thrown away.

And soon the tension melted away, and they went back to easy conversation. It was certainly odd, and he still had a phantom feeling in his chest from earlier when they had said goodnight and closed their curtains. Peverell made him feel things. And it scared him. He should be doing everything he could to prevent it. But some traitorous part of his mind didn't want him to.

He groaned as he looked up to the roof of the bed, and concentrated. He focused on making his magic into a shape, and eventually a misty gold bird began to glide around above his head. It was entrancing, and he wanted to learn more, maybe even know him, and something else he wouldn't dare name. He would never admit it to himself.

He fell into sleep that night with golden sparkles above him, the bird singing a silent tune of conflicted yearning.

**Harry's POV**

Harry was adjusting to the past very well. He had established a schedule from day to day, and he had several friends. Ironically one of them was even Riddle. Well, he didn't think that Tom Riddle would call him that, probably giving some sort of excuse like 'Tom Riddle does not have such plebeian things like friends.' But that's essentially what they were. And he felt that despite what Riddle would say, it wasn't just for mutual benefit. He enjoyed his company, and he suspected Riddle did too.

It was also pretty funny watching him freeze and re-evaluate everything because he had flirted with him on Valentine's day yesterday. Riddle was handsome, dashing really, but he didn't have a crush on him. He had honestly expected to be cursed, but instead just got an irritated glare and conversation. He supposed that he didn't want to show that it had affected him.

Caelum and Aislinn sometimes went with him to the Forbidden Forest during weekends. It was relaxing, and it was where he would go to wind down unsuspected. He could practice spells, speak Parseltongue, and just do anything he wanted. Even though the Room of Requirement was nice, it was inside the castle, under heavy wards. If he did anything to alert the wards, it would not be something he wanted to deal with. It was also easier to escape people who might be suspicious of him or following him. While there were only so many places you could go in a building, even a castle, the forest went on for miles, and his followers would get lost before they found him.

He had even seen a unicorn one day while he was leaning against Aislinn and stroking Caelum hissing softly in conversation. This one was alive, and it was breathtaking. It had seemed to glow with an otherworldliness like Theodore had, and it's mane looked like it was made from spun silver. The stunning white coat that covered its slim frame looked soft as silk and it's eyes were wide and innocent. Atop it's head was a thin, long swirling horn that simmered with magic. It had glanced at him as it appeared, stopping for only a moment before disappearing as fast as it had come.

If not for Caelum's confirming hiss, as well as Aislinn seconding it, he would have easily believed it was a dream or hallucination and he was seeing things. The forest was far from boring, and though it was never as loud as the Great Hall during lunch and Breakfast, it was never quiet. There was always something to accompany the rustling of the wind through the trees. Birds of many species sang and spoke to each other and the world. There was the subtle chirping and squeaking of the rodents among the forest floor. Though that was probably because of Aislinn and Caelum when they saw them right before they were eaten. There were the crackles of fallen leaves under hooves and paws, and the distant howling of wolves. The Forest just thrummed with magic, from the bark of the trees to the feathers of the songbirds.  
He loved it.

Next month was Spring Break, And he was going to spend it at Peverell Mansion with Theodore and Mortimer. He was going to bring Caelum of course, but he needed to figure out what to do with Aislinn. He couldn't very well bring a basilisk without anyone noticing. Unless of course they didn't know she was a basilisk. He had grown attached to her throughout this time, and he didn't want to leave her. Perhaps he could shrink her and sneak her out with Caelum. It wouldn't be beyond his capabilities, and from what Theodore had been telling him through letters, Mortimer was interested in seeing her, as well as him. He had an affinity for dark creatures, of course being the God of Death.

Since Mortimer was the God of Death, he wondered what his relationship with dementors was. He probably had to deal with a victim of the infamous kiss at some point. They were probably the darkest creatures he could think of, and he had tried to avoid them at all costs, not wanting a repeat of that particular train ride so long ago. Maybe he was missing something and the dementors were not all that he had known them as. But they were also soul suckers. He was still pretty bitter about Sirius having to deal with them unfairly in Azkaban, and if Sirius did come to exist this time, he would have to stop them from taking his sanity.

He found himself missing his friends at times, Sirius, Ron, Luna, Hermionie, and it was still a bit weird not hearing Hermione's nagging or Ron's complaining about the Malfoys when he sat down to eat at the Great Hall. But he was getting more and more used to the 1940's, hell, he was really enjoying it.

It was admittedly still a little weird not seeing the red and gold of Gryffindor everytime he woke up, but the soft green and silver of Slytherin. Lestrange, Avery, and even Malfoy had warmed up to him and treated him as one of their own. He could laugh and joke with them like he had with Ron and Hermione. Even though it seemed a little familiar, he felt like a new person living a new life, one that he very much was content with.

They had also seen more things than either of those two ever had, being in the higher societal ranks. There were lots of shady business and questionable to absent morals going on there. He was sure that some of their families even had ties to Grindelwald. They were also in the middle of a war, but Hogwarts seemed to be an escape from that. If you didn't read the papers and ignored the slight changes such as food and decreased potions ingredients it was moderately easy to forget it.

All of his classes were going exceedingly well, with his grades going toe to toe with Riddle's and they both were constantly studying things that would help give them an advantage over the other. It was fun, and when they weren't competing against each other, they made an unstoppable force. Potions was where this was really highlighted. Slughorn was constantly praising them for their perfect and improved recipes, stating they had to be the best students he had ever seen. If only Shape hadn't held such a grudge against him for being Potter's son.

Come to think of it, none of the things really alarming that Riddle had done had happened. Myrtle wasn't dead, in fact far from it. She was becoming more sociable, and had been coming to the library to study with the Hufflepuffs after they had caught an older Ravenclaw harassing her and adopted her. From what he could tell none of the knights had any type of mark, and were fine with wearing shirts and robes that exposed their bare skin. Riddle's magic didn't feel any darker, it felt the same as when he had first come, if ironically a little greyer. It was like dark chocolate and velvet, dark and mysterious , but with a sense of royalty. 

He hadn't even seen Nagani, though he didn't know exactly when he had gotten her. It might have been anytime between now and his time, but perhaps that has changed too. Apparently Riddle had been looking for the Chamber to no avail, and Caelum had heard him cursing a few times in frustration while he looked for anything that might help him find it. A few times he been even approached him like he might ask the snake, before turning away like he realized how stupid he was being. And of course Tom Riddle wasn't stupid by any means.

The Chamber, if he ever found it would be in better shape than ever, after all, he frequently came and stayed there with his serpents, so it had to be livable. The tunnels were like a maze though, and he still hadn't found Salazar's study. Aislinn refused to tell him either, stating he could use a little challenge, while giving a snake impression of a snicker.

The day after Valentine's was one of mixed feelings. He was familiar with the terrible parts of it like rejection, embarrassment and probably the worst of all love potions. But with it came good things too, like chocolate, roses, and maybe even mutual love. The decor was being vanished and students were taken to the infirmary for spiked sweets. There were wilted roses and crumpled cards in the trash along with chocolate containers. It all sort of blended together eventually in a mix of pinks and reds as it eventually came back to normalcy, the thrill of the holiday over. 

He would love to see different color roses sometime, the red ones were pretty, but in his opinion overused. Why not yellow, green, or any other color when you had an entire rainbow full of colors to choose from? A blue rose didn't occur naturally of course, but with magic anything was possible. Maybe dark blue, like the sea and sapphires, it seemed like an underrated color, and an enchanted blue rose would be lovely, and truly romantic instead of just the basic red rose.

His thoughts that night were of the sea, serpents, and enchanted roses.

**Dumbledore's POV**

Dumbledore scowled as he sat at his desk. He was grading papers, and he was reading Peverell's currently. Of course the writing was immaculate, and everything was stated and supported with evidence and rationale of a professional writer. He reminded him of Riddle, and the two Slytherins had been a thorn in his side continuously. Of course they might seem like perfect students, but he knew better. 

Beneath that charming Slytherin mask there was deceit, plans and manipulation that if not handled correctly by nipping in the bud, would grow to be evil one day. He knew it best, for he had watched it happen in his own best friend and lover. Gellert was charming and lovely, but by the time he had realized his motives and true identity, it was too late. His heart had already been broken and there was a new Dark Lord terrorizing the world.

Despite what Dippet would say, it wasn't paranoia, because he knew it would happen. Riddle was enough, he knew he was beyond saving and he would have to eventually stop him. But then Peverell had appeared, and now the two were practically a couple. They had the best grades, sat beside each other at the Great Hall, and had basically everyone eating out of the palms of their hands. 

He wondered if he was the only one in this entire school other had any sense. Gellert was still out there, conquering the world, and he had followers everywhere. There was probably a spy in Hogwarts. And it could very well be Riddle. He had been suspecting him. Their auras were both pitch black and they both acted like leaders of the cults they led while wearing their masks to the world. Well Gellert had until he had become a Dark Lord. Then he had no need to hide.

Of course it could be Peverell too. He had just appeared out of nowhere, with nothing but his name and suspiciously no knowledge about Hogwarts, looking like he had just got out of a nasty fight. He knew Gellert had been obsessed with the Hallows, and the last connection to them had been through the Peverell's, thought to have died out years ago. Was this a sign from Gellert? Was he trying to tell him something?

There was nothing at the current moment he could do. They both gave him no such opportunity to show their true natures to the world, their charming personas so believable to everyone but him. They were taunting him, just as his former lover had done. And his traitorous heart still beat for the man that was waging war on the world.

For now he would just have to wait, but as soon as he moment arose, he would take it, and fix all this.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another chapter after all this time!
> 
> New updates don't usually take me this long, but midterms put a wrench in my schedule.  
> Never fear, ill resume it now that they are over.
> 
> So yeah, timeskip.  
> Tell me how I did, and whatever else you wanna say
> 
> Thank you for reading!

**Author's Note:**

> So that's Chapter One!  
> Next chapter will be Harry meeting the professors and doing his classes while trying to act like he isn't the best at everything.  
> He gets Toms attention anyway and grabs his interest by trying to get him to loose interest.
> 
> Sorry for it being so short! I'm going to try and lengthen the next chapters up
> 
> Comments, kudos and constructive criticism is appreciated!


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